Iago
by TheNewIdea
Summary: Story from Iago's POV. Set in House of Mouse universe. Iago tells his life story starting with just before he met Aladdin and goes throughout the course of the movies. Rated T for moderate to strong language, mild sexual references, romance, sarcasm, character death, issues dealing with segregation, murder, torture, adventure and angst.
1. Diamonds In The Rough

Chapter One

Diamonds In The Rough

For those of you who don't know who I am, I'll give you a brief description. I'm a parrot. That's really all you need to know. Oh yeah, my name is Iago.

I don't come to the nightclub much anymore, the House of Mouse isn't exactly my thing to being with, but it could be worse. I'm just glad that Mickey was gracious enough to let me in, I'd been needing the social outlet for a while now. But I'm getting ahead of myself aren't I? I might as well give you some background information first while I still can, and don't get mad if I start yelling for I am in a nightclub after all.

My life is not special really, it all started back in Agrabah when I was under the service of Jafar, the Grand Vizier to the Sultan. Let's just say that there's more than one diamond in the rough other than Aladdin in that story. Jafar "found" me after I fell out of a tree because some stupid kid decided to throw an apple at my head. So there I was, both of my wings broken and my head slightly throbbing from the apple, lying in the sand and dirt of the street. Jafar apparently thought it would be a good idea if he took me in, which would've been fine if he wasn't a crazy a psychopath bent on world domination. I hated every minute of it. Jafar was probably, no is, the most cruel person that I ever met. It was even worse when he started the executions.

The Street Rats of the city were becoming a problem, the Sultan wanted to build a large building for them to live in and try to rehabilitate them which would've worked if Jafar hadn't ordered the guards to kill them. I was out enjoying the night air when I heard it, the sound of a screaming child and his mother. I flew over and perched myself on the nearest tree and saw the body.

"Go inside" the mother to the child, who was a boy about 6 or 7 years old, coincidentally if I were a human I would've been the same age, "Will he be coming back?" the boy asked looking down at the body who I presumed to be the boy's father, "No" the mother said quietly and then ushered her son back in the house. Curiosity getting the better of me, I left the tree and went down to the body and noticed that it wasn't quite dead.

"Sir?" I asked poking him with my talon, "You okay?" The man could barely move but he was able to talk to me with the turn of his head, "Bird" he said, "Watch over him, the boy. Make sure he-" he struggled to breathe, "survives." I nodded my head yes and helped him stand up, "Aren't you going back in there?" I asked, feeling concern for the family, "No" he answered, "It's dangerous with the guards killing people. I've become a liability to them" "Well" I continued, "If I'm going to watch over someone, I'd to know their name at least" The man smiled, "His name is Aladdin" I stared at him again, "What's the catch?" "He cannot know about you" he said and before I could blink, he was gone-vanished into thin air.

Walking over to the window, I noticed a few things, for one the house was small, barely any furniture, two, the mother looked sick, three, the kid was same one that threw the apple at me. Talk about irony. "You've got to be kidding" I said to myself, "It's that stupid kid who ruined my life...and I'm supposed to protect him." I sighed, it could've been worse. After all, anything was better than being with Jafar.

Aladdin, what a stupid name, but then again Iago isn't the best either. I would've much preferred Nicodemus but I'm not complaining or anything.

"Come on dear" the mother said walking over to the bed, "It's time for bed" Aladdin got up from the small chair he was sitting in and walked over quite sadly to the bed. As soon as he was settled in the mother began to sing a song, it went like this:

Come now child, rest your head

Nothing can harm you not even the dead.

Sleep and dream, dream and sleep

When you wake I will be here

watching over you.

Little child, sweet child

Life of my world.

Let your worries disappear

and know that I am here.

Sleep and dream, dream and sleep,

the moon is bright like silver.

The night is here and I am near

to watch over you.

To this day that is the only song that makes my cry. Aladdin may not remember it, I don't expect him to, but that still rings in my heart, and that voice! The sound of an angel coming down to Earth.

I was memorized to say the least, at that moment I knew that I had to keep my promise to the father. That would mean going over Jafar, the Sultan and the Higher Powers, but it was something that I had to do, if not for Aladdin's sake but for my own.


	2. The House of Mouse

Chapter Two

The House of Mouse

Goofy was supposed to bring me my drink an hour ago, I'm not mad, I actually expect it from someone like Goofy, but the least the management could do was send someone over to explain the situation.

I glared over at Jafar to my left, I could still feel his eyes burning inside me, I tried not to look at his staff, but I couldn't help myself-it was mind blowing how he could do it. He didn't even have to look at you to know what you were feeling, I guess he was having a hard time trying to break me for his smile turned into a frown and continued going down.

"Sir?" a voice said behind me, I turned around to answer it, it was Goofy, holding my drink, "Thanks Goofy" I said, trying my best not to get angry, "What took you so long?" Goofy sighed at bit, "Things have been kina slow since we're short workers" I nodded in understanding and pulled out ten dollars of American money, "Take it. For your trouble" Goofy bowed and walked away.

To my right sat the Genie, the only person in the room who knew about my promise to watch over Aladdin. I made him swore absolute secrecy, I didn't want anyone finding out, mostly because of if Aladdin found out, he would have his guards roast him alive for lying to him his entire life. But I wouldn't blame him if he did, after all I'd be mad too if I knew that my father was alive ten years before I found out he was alive to begin with, thinking he was dead.

"Hey Al" Genie said from across the way, "What do you think about that?" he pointed in my direction, Aladdin was sitting across from him also looked my way, "It's just Iago" he exclaimed, "But he's sitting alone" Genie added, "Maybe he wants to be alone" Aladdin continued, "Did you ever think of that Genie?" Genie slumped his shoulders and turned into, ironically Robin Williams, "Come on" he said hitting Aladdin's shoulder like you would a best friend, "He's our friend right?"Aladdin laughed at this "I wouldn't go that far Genie. I'd say more like acquaintance"

I was somewhat hurt by his words. I had considered Aladdin to be my only friend, especially after everything that we experienced, but maybe I was only fooling myself. Maybe I wanted to believe that I was capable of friendship just to amuse myself and get away from Jafar, but deep down, I didn't want to believe it. I needed friends more than anything, it's the only reason that I'm still alive actually, but enough about wallowing in self pity.

The mouse was back on stage, he was saying something about time for the musical act. "Welcome to the stage, everyone's favorite band from south of the border-The Three Caballeros!" Mickey was practically yelling the band's introduction, for the music had drowned him out. In less than three seconds, Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles were seen hanging by wire above the stage. Then the worst song I ever heard began, I'm not even going to tell you the lyrics, it's that bad, but all you need to know is that the song is the name of the band.

I will try my best to continue over the charades going on stage, but if the story suddenly ends due to my death caused by the terribleness of this song then I am deeply sorry and give you a thousand pardons.

"The next day was interesting, but then again every day is interesting in Agrabah... Agh!" Hang on a minute, an apple hit my head. "Alright who threw the apple!" Sorry about the yelling, I'm really mad right now. I'm going to stop talking to you, it's too confusing.

After giving a quick once over of the room and failing to find who threw the apple, I decided to give up looking and turned back towards the audience. There, is this better? I'm narrating my own life as it happens, is it better? Because I can change it if it's not. No, good, cause it was happening wither you gave a response or not.

Before I could begin the story again, the song ended, much to my pleasure, but the noise from the crowd was loud I couldn't continue. It was deafening and so I decided that it would be easier if I went up into the rafters.

The rafters of the House of Mouse is the one place for people like me to relax. Actually there's an entire club just for us birds there, called Amazon's Rest. Why it's called that I don't know, but I'm not going to argue. It was refugee from the chaos down below. The bartender is one someone who I would technically consider a friend, if he wasn't such a jerk to everyone. The only reason I would consider him such is because he gives me free drinks, alcoholic ones at that and you can't beat free stuff.

I walked over to the bar and ordered the usual, a straight up vodka. After a few drinks I decided that it was time to continue the story.


	3. The Street Rat

Chapter Three

The Street Rat

I had been watching the kid for about two weeks, nothing really interesting happened. He would go to the market, buy a loaf of bread and then run home to his mother where he would practice his chivalry. Why he needed to practice chivalry at all was a mystery to me, he seemed like a decent person enough, he shouldn't need to practice it. Then the day came that everything changed.

It was raining, it had been going steady for the better part of the previous night and hadn't let up since. I was perched in a nearby tree, having managed to slip away from Jafar, after convincing him that I was on official court business dealing with the Street Rat situation. From the way that Aladdin ran into the house, I could tell that something was wrong. So, showing concern for the kid, I flew directly into the house.

Forgetting the rule of secrecy that the father had set for me, I hid behind the vase almost in plain sight and saw the second worst thing in my entire life. Aladdin was crouched over the limp, bleeding and manipulated body of his mother. Her head was spilt open from a concussion and in her torso had large cuts from a sword or knife. Near the mother's body, was a broken pot and a white rag. To make matters worse, the smell of semen was in the room.

It was obvious what had happened. I watched as Aladdin continued cradling his mother's head and I couldn't help but cry because in a small way, she was my mother too. With nothing else to do, I began to sing "Sweet child, light of my world...let your worries disappear and know that I am here." Singing the song made me feel better and I noticed that Aladdin felt better too, for he had heard me. I panicked and fearing that I would be discovered and realizing that singing calmed him, I continued, "Don't cry boy...I am here, let me shield all your fears and cast away the tears...The light of the world you shall always be, for I am your mother...and father to be" I made that up on the spot, and I knew that not only was it a song, but an obligation.

After that I left him alone, leaving through the same window that I came through, I accidently knocked over a pot, which sent Aladdin running out the door.

Aladdin looked left and right, he was in full panic mode. I had to do something, if he ran away it would mean breaking my promise and I was not about to do that. He ran to the one place I knew he would go, the market. As luck would have it, Jafar had gone to the market that morning. I would be dead if I were discovered protecting the boy, so I followed him and did the worst thing that I could ever do to anyone.

Aladdin ran past the bread makers, a candlestick maker and lamp dealer before running into a fish stall. But that didn't stop him, flying ahead of him to try and find something, anything to stop him from leaving the city or stumbling into Jafar I began knocking over every random thing I could find. he did stumble a bit, but still continued running. It was then that the guards began to take notice and chase after him.

"Get back here" one of them shouted, trying to intimidate and failing, only making Aladdin run faster through the streets. It was difficult trying to stay ahead of him to be honest, the boy could run. I was just about to turn around and see how his progress was going when I ran into Jafar himself. His staff was long and his beard was shorter than what you're probably used to but it was still unmistakably the Grand Vizier. Looking down at me and then turning towards Aladdin who had followed the path I had made, Jafar smiled, "Good work Iago" he sneered, "I suspected nothing less from you" Patting my head, he walked towards Aladdin and turned towards the guards, "Execute him"

I rushed in and met Jafar's gaze of complete and utter shock. I was standing between Jafar and a guard's sword, a very uncomfortable position on either end. "Iago" Jafar said, his voice getting higher and hot with rage, "What are you doing?" Sweating and thinking fast I came up with an answer, "Taking this boy" I said, "to where he belongs." I then leaned in, "There's too many people here for the execution of a child Jafar. Wait a few years for the boy to grow up, then you can execute him properly!" Jafar nodded and apparently saw wisdom in my words. "Release him!" he yelled to the guard, who immediately complied, turning to me Jafar continued, "Make sure he goes where he belongs"

After that encounter, both the guards and Jafar left, leaving me with breathing room. I knew what I had done would technically be considered damning a boy to live on the streets for what I hoped would be the remainder of his life, but on the upside I had saved him. Aladdin looked at me with curiosity, "You can speak?" he asked, I cringed, I knew I had forgotten something! I turned around and did the only I could do, I squawked. Aladdin shrugged and scratched his head, "I could've sworn that I heard you speak" I replied the same way I did before, which had thankfully convinced Aladdin that he was hallucinating. Aladdin sighed, "Well you may not be able to talk. But you're definitely smarter than any bird I've seen before" I smiled at his compliment, almost saddened that I had now prevented myself from speaking.

The night was closing in and the market was closing. Aladdin stared at me, "Lead the way, I suppose" So I did. I brought him to the one place that I knew that Jafar would never think to look, in the heart of the city, and the view of the palace-to die for.

Two months had passed since the death of Aladdin's mother. At night, I still dream of the body, I can still see the blood and the semen that covered her. I could hear the sound of Aladdin's crying and then nothing.

Most days, Aladdin would sit around the flat, enjoying the view. I managed to bring what little food I could find to him, I barely ate anymore. I couldn't help but feel that Aladdin felt like he was being watched by Jafar, he did see my conversation after all. No one should ever feel like they are watched by the Grand Vizier, so as much as it pained me to do it, I had to leave.

But as much as I knew what needed to be done, I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it because Aladdin would be all alone, which is worse than being watched by Jafar. So I decided to find Aladdin a friend, I found Abu.

Abu was a short little monkey who was sitting on a rug in the marketplace. From the looks of him, he seemed pretty smart, he was busy doing rope tricks for a small crowd when I came up to him holding a bag. Without so much as a second thought I scooped him up and brought him to Aladdin. So apparently, he's not that smart.

When I opened the bag, I found a small scared little monkey in the place of Abu, well it was Abu. I am happy to note that Aladdin took to him instantly and Abu did the same for Aladdin. Smiling and with the knowledge that Aladdin would be alright, I left the flat. But when I was well enough away, I sat on a tree branch and cried my eyes out.


	4. The Sultan's Daughter

Chapter Four

The Sultan's Daughter

Flying back in the palace at close to midnight, I landed on the balcony. I was greeted by none other than Jasmine, the Sultan's daughter. She hated me, for no good reason mind you, all I did was accidently bite her hand for trying to feed me disgusting stale crackers, not that big a deal. But apparently to the Sultan's daughter, the biggest drama queen in the whole world, almost biting off her hand earns you a place on the "You are dead to me" list.

"Hello bird" she said scolding, I didn't answer her, I wasn't supposed to. "Look I know you probably don't understand I word I'm saying" she continued, "but I really need you to listen okay?" I nodded my head to show her that I was listening and perched myself comfortably on the head board of her bed.

Jasmine was about the same age as Aladdin, which is extremely convenient and awkward at the same time. I mean, hey if you're boyfriend/husband was the same age as you it would at first, be a little weird don't you think? I thought so too.

"Daddy's getting really serious with this whole marriage thing" she began, "I don't know what to do" Marriage? She was 10? Marriage technically shouldn't even be an option here, but what am I talking about this is the Middle East, the men here are more desperate than a starving homeless guy when it comes to getting sexual satisfaction. Especially Jafar. Seriously the guy is a creeper rapist, I've seen him look at her or try to when she goes to the bathroom, it's disgusting and I know now that the saying, "There are some things that you can't un see" is completely and totally true.

Not knowing exactly what my response should be considering that I'm not supposed to talk to any human expect Jafar, I squawked again. Squawking by the way, is extremely uncomfortable, seriously, to say that it hurts my throat is an understatement in itself. But nonetheless, Jasmine smiled at me, "Thanks for understanding" Understanding? What exactly did I do? Nothing. That's humans for you.

When Jasmine left leaving me alone in the room, I felt immensely sorry for her. Here she was stuck in the palace, forbidden to leave and not to have any contact with anyone who wasn't already in the palace walls. I knew that I would have to help her, like I helped Aladdin, but now the situation was much more delicate because of two particular set of people, Jafar and the Sultan himself.

Dinner at the palace was always the same, crackers. How I hate crackers. I used to love them to be honest, but then I kept getting crackers- every single meal. Do you have any idea what's it's like to be fed almost nothing but crackers? It's terrible. I've resorted to eating the garbage just to get protein, only to find nothing but leftover bones. This is the reason why I hate the Middle East.

The Sultan is an eccentric to put it lightly, well normally he would be an eccentric, but now he was just depressed. To be fair, his wife did just die from a horrible disease that has no cure and is nameless, so I guess I'll cut him some slack on the crackers for now-at least until the mourning period is up.

"So my dear" the Sultan said gravely, "You know that I only want what is best for you" Jasmine huffed slightly to herself, "What's best for me?" she answered, "Marriage dad? Really? I'm 10!" the Sultan only let out a small sigh and continued eating. Jafar meanwhile gazed at Jasmine as if she were prey. I had to intervene, it was too much, "Jafar" I yelled but nothing happened, "Jafar!" Still nothing. I sighed, "Polly want a cracker" Jafar looked me and stuffed three large crackers down my throat. Struggling, I saw that Jafar immediately turned to Jasmine again, so I could only think of one thing. "Polly want a cracker, Polly want a cracker" I continued this for most of the meal, which was close to about two hours before Jafar finally snapped. Taking the entire bowl of crackers, which was big enough to fit three grown men into, Jafar began stuffing the entire contents of the bowl into my mouth. He never stopped to check and see if I was still breathing. To this day, I never want to eat another cracker again.

Jasmine walked over to me and got a small bowl of water. Holding it up to my mouth, which was extremely dry- I was probably close to death I was dehydrated so much, I drank. I think that was the moment that Jasmine didn't hate me completely, looking at her with surprise and seriousness I squawked happily and then spoke, "Thanks for that" Jasmine then smiled, "You're welcome" the Sultan meanwhile was too busy eating to notice that I was speaking and Jafar was too lost in himself to care, "Listen" I said, "you don't have to live your life the way your father wants you to. It's your life after all" Jasmine's smile only increased, "You know, for a bird, you're not so bad, Iago" I bowed my head solemnly and she returned to her seat. It was then that our estranged relationship began.

On the days that I wasn't with Jafar, which were many I must admit, I was with Jasmine. I tried to show her the beauty of the world by bringing her all sorts of different things from around the city, her favorite things were the flowers, so I taught her how to plant them. I also taught her the basics, becoming something of a tutor. I taught mathematics, science, politics and government, writing, poetry, singing and music. I was the jack of all trades and the best part was, it was our secret.

One day we were sitting in the garden next to the large fountain. The scenery was quite beautiful and honestly would've made for a prefect romantic session but I had strict rule, no teacher-student relationships. Despite the fact that I was growing some pretty strong feelings for her, and almost came close to breaking that rule. "What's a Street Rat?" she asked, cocking her head to the side as if she were playing with me, "A street rat?" I answered, my first thought came to Aladdin and how I hadn't seen him in close to what would've been a year. It made my heart sink a bit just thinking about him, wondering if he was still alive, "It's a criminal. Nothing more than a common thief" I continued. My answer was a lie and I knew it and I think that she knew that I knew it. Luckily for me, Jasmine was smart enough to see that I didn't want to talk about it anymore, so we never did.

Do you ever get the feeling that you're doing the right thing for the right reasons? Well I only had that feeling once, and that was when I decided to end my friendship/relationship with Jasmine. It was too risky me being Jafar's servant and her being the Sultan's daughter for us to continue the lessons. That and the fact that secretly I was falling in love with her. To make it official, I did the worst thing that I have ever done to any one person, I destroyed the flower garden, the books I had bought, the instruments we used, and everything else that was even remotely related to our lessons. I then had Jafar use his staff to erase her memory of the entire incident and our friendship as a whole.

I swore to myself then that I would never fall in love again, and so far I've kept that promise.


	5. The Piano Teacher

Chapter Five

The Piano Teacher

After about five drinks I stopped and paid the bartender. Barely able to stand, I managed to make my way to the edge of the rafters, only to fall face down in Mrs. Potts.

Climbing out and giving my apologizes to both Mrs. Potts and her son Chip, I hurried as fast as I could to my table. All I really wanted to do now was sleep but my hotel was ten minutes away and I was all out of money and in no condition to fly, so I was stuck at the House of Mouse for the night.

Genie looked at me again, this time he managed to actually sit down at my table. "You okay pipsqueak?" he asked, I ignored his comment and nodded, but Genie wasn't convinced, "You sure? Cause you look like you got ran over by a train" I stared at him, I didn't want to shout or anything, that would cause a scene, instead I stood up on the table and ruffled my feathers a bit, "Look Genie" I said, "You know pretty much everything that happened right?" Genie nodded, he knew that I was talking about Aladdin, "Of course I know. Don't worry, I'm good at keeping secrets" "Do you mind keeping a few more?" I asked meekly, Genie then pulled out a pad of paper, a pen and was somehow wearing glasses, a tweed jacket and plaid pants, he looked like a psychiatrist. I sighed and began telling him of my early relationship with Jasmine.

When it was over, Genie nodded and put away the notepad, the pen and the annoying psychiatrist outfit, he stared at me seriously and spoke, "You know what that tells me?" I shook my head, "It tell me that you are more than you appear to be" Genie patted my head and walked back to his table, I laughed at what he said, for he didn't even know the whole story yet.

Lefou, Gaston's sidekick and one of my best friends walked up on stage. This was something new I could tell, for he was standing in front of a piano. Turning to the audience he spoke, "Ladies and Gentlemen" his voice was actually normal sounding, having lost the nasally laugh. To top it off, Lefou's hair, which was shorter before, was now long and black. Wearing a tuxedo, Lefou looked almost gentlemanly, I say almost for he was still Lefou. Then he began to play.

To say that Lefou's performance was surprising would be an understatement, it was amazing. I couldn't have been prouder, I did teach him after all. But the really amazing thing was what happened after the performance, Lefou stood up from the piano and asked Horace to dim the lights, creating a serious mood, then he spoke into the microphone, "That was dedicated to the House of Mouse and the person who changed my life, my teacher-Iago" As soon as Lefou said my name, the lights turned on again, everyone was staring at me as if I were the devil or something.

I don't like being the center of attention, which is ironic in every way possible I know, but if there ever a moment in my life when I felt ashamed of myself, it was that one. With no real means of escape, I flew up and headed for the nearest open window. Lefou looked around and immediately realized what he had done and began to destroy the piano.

I sat on top of the roof of the building, I didn't really want to leave I just needed some air. Of all the things I needed, I needed someone to understand. I had given everything I had for two people who now could care less about me. What was I doing wrong? I guess it doesn't matter, even though it should.

Just then, Donald came up to the roof. He was holding a large banner for some reason, but something told me that the banner was just an excuse to get up here and be away from everybody. Sitting down next to me and letting the banner flap away in the wind, Donald said nothing and we stayed that way for ten minutes.

"What are you doing up here?" I asked turning towards Donald, "Avoiding Jose and Panchito" Donald answered as he extended his hand, which I took with my right talon, "Donald Duck" he said in greeting, I knew who he was but I also knew that he was being polite, something that is hard for even someone like Donald to do, "Iago" I replied back giving him the same satisfaction. "So what are you doing up here?" he asked, "Me?" I answered, "I'm trying to figure out my life and why everyone hates me through a long and complex back story. Why?" Donald had no words for this, he looked at me as if I were a brick wall and then began laughing. After several minutes of this, I guess he couldn't take anymore and headed back inside the building, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

I then remembered that I had a small piano that I always kept with me. I don't know why I had it, but I knew that music made me feel better about myself. So I set it up and sitting on top of the nightclub began to play.

Looking up at the moon, I noticed that it shining brighter than usual. Every time I see the moon I think of that song, the one that Aladdin's mother sung so long ago...

Sleep and dream, dream and sleep,

the moon is bright like silver.

The night is here and I am near

to watch over you


	6. The Right Thing For The Right Reasons

Chapter Six

The Right Thing For The Right Reasons

It was Jasmine's 16th birthday. Everyone was happy, even Jafar seemed to be in a good mood. Just like every year previous, the Sultan had decided to gather up all the available male suitors in the kingdom. Honestly, if I were a human, I would've been first in line. After several failed attempts and several laughable instances of suitors running away in sheer terror of either me or the tiger, the Sultan it seemed had finally given up.

"What am I going to do?" the Sultan asked desperately as he began pacing the floor, "I have a suggestion Your Highness" Jafar replied with a slight hiss in his voice, "Since you're having so much difficulty with this situation" I could tell already where he was going with this the minute he said "Suggestion" it was more like he was going to blankly state exactly what he wanted and then whip out his staff, hypnotizing the Sultan into doing exactly that thing. If I had put a billion dollars on that assumption, I would be a very rich bird.

After Jafar so predictably hypnotized the Sultan, I perched myself on the throne and began to think. _"What to do?"_ I thought, _"Finding a suitable suitor for Jasmine...I'd never thought I'd live to see the day that she would actually agree to this! I also never thought that I would take it upon myself to find her one."_ It was hard for me to accept the fact that no matter what I did, Jasmine would never see me for anything else but Jafar's bird, who is cold and heartless. Yep, that's me, Iago, the cold and heartless bird who just so happens to be in love with the Sultan's daughter. Ain't it great to be me?

Jafar sat on the throne, seeming to enjoy the power that just sitting in the chair gave him, I didn't understand what the big deal was, it was chair, they make millions of them every day. But then again, this chair was special because it was solid gold. But still, it's just a stupid chair, I see no reason why Jafar had to go ahead and lick the darn thing, which is exactly what he did. Then, as if the throne wasn't deflied enough, Jafar had the chutzpah to talk to and then hump the chair as if he were having sex with it. Once again proving, some things you can't un see and that will forever be, the most disgusting thing I had ever experienced in my entire life.

Jafar stopped, thankfully and stared at me accusingly, "Iago" he sneered demonically, "What you have just witnessed is off the record. Do you understand?" I nodded but apparently it wasn't enough for him and thus demanded that I speak, "Yes, your Evilness!" I replied, frankly I was terrified. Jafar then smiled that devious smile that he would get when he had a "good" idea, his smile is very similar to The Grinch's actually, now that I think about I think Disney stole it from Dr. Seuss. But I'm getting off topic here, Jafar's a creeper rapist and I bet he was thinking about how to get Jasmine to marry him, again if I bet a billion dollars...

"Iago, I've been thinking" Jafar exclaimed, "Isn't that dangerous sir?" I quipped, laughing to myself at my own joke, but unfortunately Jafar doesn't have a sense of humor, in fact he doesn't have a sense of anything. "Be quite you!" he said as he hit me on the head with his staff, "I need to find a way to get to Jasmine" With that Jafar stood up and began walking off in random, aimless directions, it was times like this I slipped out, but it was also a very dangerous to be around Jafar. So without causing attention to myself, I flew off, in search of the one person I knew would be absolutely perfect.

Finding Aladdin is harder than you think it is. For one, the kid is always getting in and out of trouble, because of this you would think it would be easy to find him, but no-because Aladdin was very good at getting out of trouble very quickly. I had searched the majority of the city was just about to head back to the palace when I saw him in a dark alleyway with Abu.

Flying higher than usual but close enough to hear their conversation I began eavesdropping, "What a great Abu" Aladdin said as he held two good sized loaves of bread in his arms, "and to think, those guards didn't suspect a thing" Abu nodded in agreement and began making unintelligible sounds, I say unintelligible because monkey, although I understand it, is extremely hard to translate and there are some things that shouldn't be said.

Finding a nice perch where I could view everything and still remain hidden, I saw Aladdin turn a corner and come across two small children. What happened next, is something that I will never forget. Stooping down, Aladdin took one of the loaves of bread and gave it to the kids. One of them looked up at him and asked curiously, "Why did you give us this?" Aladdin sighed, "Because you needed it" "But we were going to rob you" the child returned, Aladdin laughed, "You don't need to steal everything to get by. Some things just come to you naturally" Aladdin looked at Abu, who was selfishly guarding his piece like it was the Holy Grail, but seeing the kids suffer the way they were, Abu gave in and handed them his piece of bread. The other child looked at Aladdin and spoke, "Why did you give this?" Aladdin looked up this time, "Because when I was younger, I had food brought to me every day and not once did I ever see who it was who brought it. Not once was ever really grateful for it." The child was confused, "But by bringing this to us, you're putting us at a disadvantage" "No" Aladdin replied, "I'm making you stronger. By eating this bread you live another day, and by living another day, you appreciate the life you have been given."

Spoken like a true poet. It made me proud to say that I taught him that, even if he didn't know it was me, it didn't matter. Just the simple satisfaction of knowing that I made a difference made me feel like I was on top of the world.


	7. The Cave of Wonders

Chapter Seven

The Cave of Wonders

I had to get Aladdin to the palace, he was perfect for Jasmine. But the problem became, how to do it. Then I remembered Jafar's crazy obsession with The Cave of Wonders and the magic lamp inside it. The lamp was said to house a genie, who would grant three wishes to whoever released him. I had to find it.

The Cave of Wonders is easier to find than Aladdin is on any given day, you might as well gave me a path with arrows on it Disney, really, it's called follow the North Star for a reason. The Cave of Wonders woke up slower than usual, which told me that he wasn't in a good mood, if it was even a guy at all that is. "Who dare disturbs my-" he began shouting by seeing as it was only a bird, he lightened up, "Okay what do you want?" I smiled at this for The Cave was known to be strict and all powerful, "I seek entrance, inside of you I guess." "Who are you?" he boomed again, sounding like Absalom the Caterpillar. Shaking nervously, I answered, "Iago the parrot" The Cave was about to open and then stopped when I said parrot, "Seriously?" he began laughing, "You're a parrot! Really. You want to enter me, for what!" "Now why would I tell you that?" I replied, getting somewhat annoyed with this conversation. "Because I haven't had dinner yet" The Cave answered, I was confused, why was he talking about dinner? Then it hit me. I sighed, "Look bud, if that's what you're into, more power to you. But I just want the lamp okay?"

The Cave nodded and opened his mouth, "You may enter" he said, which I did, very quickly, because The Cave of Wonders apparently has a thing for birds and it's disgusting.

Deep within the Cave, was several large mountains of gold. Now this is where it gets interesting, because how am I supposed to find a lamp in the first place, in this mess? The Cave must be very fat, because the gold never seemed to end. I cannot lie here, I did wallow and roll around in it.

You're surrounded by gold in a large room, tell me you wouldn't do that too. If you don't then you have no soul. That's right I said it, and there's nothing you can do about it. But don't press the escape button please the story isn't over yet and to be honest it's just rude to stop in the middle of a story especially one that you're this invested in, so do yourself a favor and keep reading.

After having indulged my dream of rolling around in a large pile of gold, I proceeded with finding the lamp. I spent seven whole days, collecting each lamp in the entire Cave of Wonders and rubbing the heck out of them. After I had gone through almost 7.5 million lamps I found the magic one, in a closed off section of the room. At that moment, I felt extremely proud of myself and angry at the Cave for doing this to me. He could've told where it was. But no, the Cave had to be a big jerk and let me go searching for days inside of him! What an asshole.

It couldn't be as simple as just taking it. For one thing, I smelt the lava that was poorly hidden underneath the rocks and could guess that the booby trap involved with the lamp had something to do with the lava. I looked up a saw a small hole in the ceiling, it would be big enough for me to fly through and carry the lamp, but I also guessed that the opening would close as soon as the lamp was removed from the pedestal. So I did the one thing I do, I picked up a similar looking lamp and replaced it, and what do you know? Nothing happened. That so far, is the only time in history that the booby trap did not go off using that method. That makes me happier than anyone could ever be.

I didn't want to rub it, for that would bring the genie out, but I didn't know if the genie was good or bad, I couldn't just bring it to Aladdin without knowing. So I rubbed it.

A loud roar and accompanying smoke filled the room, followed by the presence of the Genie we all know and love. Let me say right now, he is the most annoying person I have ever met, ever. After explaining the rules of a genie to no one particular, Genie looked down at me. "You've got to be kidding me" he said, "I've been released by a bird!" I nodded and spoke, "Yes, so if you don't mind I'd like to start with the wish making" Genie perked up a little bit and screamed with joy for no reason, which was multiplied by the echo of the Cave. "So what'll it be?"

I had to think long and hard on this, "My first wish. Is to be good" Genie was rolling up his sleeves and then suddenly stopped, "What did you just say?" "I want to be good" I repeated, "That's not a wish!" Genie said, "Did you try gold or women?" I shook my head, at that moment it was only I could think of and the only true wish that I had. Then I thought harder, "I wish that you would stop talking" Genie immediately pulled out a zipper and put it on his mouth, closing it. This is easier than I thought, "I wish that Aladdin would find you" Genie went back into the lamp, rather sadly, "I wish that you forgot everything about me" The lamp giggled a bit and moved back on the pedestal. Without so much as word, I turned around and left the cave.


	8. Song Bird

Chapter Eight

Song Bird

Heading back inside the nightclub hoping that everyone had forgotten the ordeal, I tried looking as inconspicuous as possible. It didn't work.

"I didn't know you could play?" Daisy said as I walked in the front door from behind the registration desk. I sighed, "It's one of my many talents" "Really?" Daisy exclaimed, "Well I'd to hear it sometime" I rubbed the back of my neck, embarrassed that the situation had come back to light so quickly, "Maybe" I said sheepishly and slowly walking to my table. Daisy ran up to me and pulled out a small carnation, pinning it to my feathers, "For luck" she said, smiling as she kissed my forehead. Whatever Daisy was trying to tell me, I didn't want to know what it was. All I wanted was to go home, so why go back in?

With the tip of my wing, I bade goodbye to Daisy and flew out the front door heading for my hotel in the city. It's not Agrabah's palace, but it'll have to do. If there was one thing I could get right though, it was views. From the my window alone, you could see the entire Toon Town skyline, there were buildings everywhere for it was styled after New York and Chicago, making for an interesting and fun city just with appearance of the buildings.

My room didn't have much, for I didn't exactly have any possessions of my own. Taking off the small carnation I put it in a drawer and ruffled my feathers again. In addition to my travel piano, I kept a slightly larger one in the closet, pulling it out I tuned it and began to play.

One of my favorite songs was Aladdin's version of "A Whole New World" it should be considering that I taught him that back in Agrabah when he was still a boy. How do you think everyone knew the songs to sing? I wrote them and then sang it repeatedly into their heads. Every song in that movie you can thank me for. Your welcome again. I poured my heart and soul into that song for one reason and one reason only, it described me perfectly. But Aladdin's version to Jasmine was lacking, so here's mine:

I can show the world

See with your own eyes now.

Come closer and meet me

on the magic carpet ride.

I can lift your soul

Make you see things a new way

Can you hear it?

The sound of our love as it takes flight.

A whole new world

the landscape changes every day.

But I don't care, for what we share

is greater than the gold.

A whole new world

a brand new perspective.

The sun shines brighter when I'm with you.

I don't know where we'll go

the difference in our hearts that beat as one.

I can see you with him

The boy who I raised and knew.

Growing closer, it pains me

to see such romance in the bloom.

He can give you, your world

He can make it better.

What am I? Nothing, compared to him.

A whole new world. Someday the sun will rise

and when the morning comes, this heart knows

that your love was meant to be.

A whole new world

a dazzling place I never knew.

I don't know where you'll go

but always know

that my love shall never fade.

The world is yours,

see what's in store.

My heart will be,

waiting here,

forever more.

If only I could sing that to Jasmine. I wouldn't care what Aladdin thought about it, or Jasmine even liked it, it something that I needed to do for me, to give me closure. But with each passing day, that possibility got smaller and smaller. I began to lose hope that closure would ever come, so every night I sang that song, hoping that she would hear it.


	9. Human

Chapter Nine

Human

I woke one morning to the sound of a large parade of elephants, circus freaks and complete and total randomness. Looking out my window, I noticed that it was all for one guy.

The noise from the congregation that was heading towards the palace was making my head hurt. The song was getting on my nerves, whoever written it had no musical talent whatsoever, what a minute, I wrote that. Why did I write that song? I guess I expected Aladdin to sing it, but what I got was stupid Genie ruining it with his terrible impressions, his annoying and modern pop culture references and the fact that he took it way out of proportion with the whole parade through the city, on a pack of elephants, a slew of monkeys, a pride of lions and a large marching band. But that's Genie for you.

I decided to go to the throne room to get a better look of the situation. Seeing Aladdin in the white robes, made me immediately think of Sultan. I guess that was the point, and if he was foreshadowing something, the message couldn't have been clearer.

Jafar came in looking like he had just gotten up from bed, which is a bad thing. His beard was tangled up more than it usually was; his clothes were matted and smelt like urine. Jafar must have been dreaming something really good or really bad because he was smiling the entire time.

The Sultan was delighted at Aladdin's entrance, "Wonderful, simply wonderful. Who are you boy?" Aladdin bowed humbly, "You can call me Prince Ali" Jafar sneered, having recognized that Prince Ali was the same Street Rat from all those years ago, but not wanting to make a scene bowed respectively, "Welcome to the Palace...Your Most Gracious Majesty" I rolled my eyes in absolute disgust, Jafar was waiting for the right moment to strike. I had to get them away from each other.

Flying over and landing on the Sultan's shoulder, I squawked "Polly want a cracker" the Sultan laughed as he gave me three of the foul disgusting crackers, which I had to force myself to shallow. At that moment Jasmine came in the room, "Ah there you are Jasmine" the Sultan said happily, "This is-""I know who he is father" Jasmine replied, "and let me tell you something" she pointed a finger at Aladdin, "I am not about to let myself be thrown around by you or anyone else here. I am not simply a prize to hang on your mantle" With that she stormed angrily out of the room, I then hung my head; I had to stop myself from crying. Flying back over to Jafar, I rested my haunches on the throne.

The Sultan sighed, "Don't worry about her, Prince Ali" he said, "I'm sure she'll come around eventually" Aladdin nodded, and allowed himself to be shown the rest of the castle, taking the standard tour of the suitors.

"Don't think this changes anything Iago" Jafar sneered when they left the room, "I will become Sultan. One way or another" I laughed, "Sure Jafar, you'll be Sultan, and I'll be a human." I stopped, realizing what I just said, "That can be arranged" Jafar yelled menacingly, "I've seen you eyeing Jasmine at dinner, in the garden, almost every place she goes, I've seen you." He was practically on top of me now, crushing my legs. "It's a shame really" he continued as he eased up a bit, "that you're in love with her, when you know it is forbidden. What would Jasmine think of you if she found out?" Standing up, I looked him straight in the eye, "Why bother? She doesn't know I exist anyway" I flew back on top of the throne, "Besides, Ali seems pretty dead set on her"

Jafar put his hand on my shoulder; it was cold and felt like a dead fish, "Poor Iago. I want to help you, I really do." "I don't want your help" I yelled, "I can deal with this on my own" Jafar laughed, "No you can't! You're a weak, spineless fool. If you want Jasmine to see you for anything than what you already are, let me make you human." I shook my head, "If Jasmine is ever going to love me. I want her to love me for who I am Jafar!" I was now directly flying in his face, "I won't let you use me to manipulate her. Can't you see that she's not interested? Apparently not your creeper rapist. You're the worst kind, howling and biting at-"Before I could finish insulting him, Jafar grabbed my beak and slammed me against the wall.

Raising his staff, Jafar looked at me, "I curse you. You shall remain a human until you get Jasmine to fall in love with me or I become Sultan!" "That'll never happen!" I yelled in return, "You're nothing but a crazy" Jafar shot a blot of fire at me, it grazed my feathers, "psychopath!" Jafar then brought his staff down on me, the last thing I remember was his evil and menacing laugh.

Waking up hours later in a small guest room, I had for a minute forgotten where I was. Then I remembered what happened. Sitting up from the bed and looking at the mirror, I saw a slightly tanned skinned man with a thin mustache and long wavy black hair. It was me, Jafar had made me human.

I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do. On one hand, I wanted to immediately tell Jasmine wanted happened and perhaps convince her of my own feelings, but on the other hand, I knew that being with Jasmine would be dangerous because Jafar would be expecting me to do his bidding. Then there was the matter with Aladdin. If I even went near Jasmine, he might go off, I'm pretty sure I could take him in a fight if came down to it, but I didn't want hurt him, or anybody for that matter.

Coming up with a story to explain myself, something I would have to do, I began coming up with different ways a conversation could go, and various ways on how to get out of it. Unlike Aladdin, I think of every possible outcome _before _I start lying, that way 95% percent of the time, the odds are in my favor.

Playing the part of a visiting nobleman who was staying at the palace on secret political matters involving the possible union between Saudi Arabia and Israel, I walked out of my room and began to tour the palace. It was then I realized one major detail about humans, I looked down and noticed that I was completely naked.

Running back inside the safety of my room, I noticed another thing, the window was open and Jasmine had a clear view of my body. Not a comfortable position by any means. Closing the window as fast as I could, and for some reason wanting to open it again, I began finding clothes. Unfortunately, all of the clothes in the dresser were two sizes too small, for this was the Sultan's spare room and for some reason, I had muscular build. Which meant two things, one- as a bird, I'm stronger than I think I am and two- It would be really hard for Jasmine not to notice me. Compared to Aladdin, I was like every NFL player who ever lived combined, that's an extreme exaggeration I know, but I like to think that's what it would've been.

After finding some clothes that I managed to squeeze myself into, which was a long black Egyptian cotton and silk blend, I began, for the second time, to walk the palace grounds.


	10. Funny Hats

Chapter Ten

Funny Hats

The next week I found myself perched on top of the entry way of the House of Mouse, watching as people began piling in for the final show of the season. I could see most of the princesses; they had all decided to wear funny hats for some reason. It made absolutely no sense, but then a lot of things haven't made sense lately, like my undying love for Jasmine.

Flying around the room I noticed that it wasn't just the princesses, it was everyone. Even the villains, who didn't really have to do much in particular cases, were wearing funny hats. I didn't get it. It was then that Mickey came up on stage, wearing the worst rainbow themed hat I have ever seen, I almost took offensive to it be honest.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the House of Mouse" he said, once again practically yelling over the music, "Tonight as you probably noticed, is Funny Hat Night. So without any further introductions or anything else, let the dancing begin." Dancing? What was he getting at? Then the music started played and the stage disappeared, revealing a large dance floor. Then everyone got up and began dancing.

I was completely flabbergasted. It was times like this were nothing made sense that I wanted to stop the world entirely, that maybe I might get some peace for once. But no, I couldn't do that.

Landing on the Blue Fairy's table, somewhat grateful that she wasn't present, I leaned against a candle, trying to reach for the warmth that it emitted. All of my friends, if they really were my friends, were out on the dance floor having the time of their lives. Normally, I'm a pretty social bird, I enjoy others company. But this was too much even for me. There were hats everywhere, and each one was unique, it was like Madri Gras and the Kentucky Derby in one big package. There were hats with sparklers, hats with random annoying blinking lights, hats that were weird just by being a hat.

I looked over at Jafar and noticed that he wasn't dancing, I knew him not to be the dancing type anyway, but I also saw that his hat didn't change, it was ridiculous enough already I supposed. Then he walked over to me. Leaning in with his evil grin on his face, he spoke, "I understand Iago" he patted my head violently, "to watch as people step on you, not caring about your feelings." I flew towards a balcony but Jafar was there before I got even close to it, "I know what you want. I can make it happen, for a small fee of course" "Nothing you can say, give or do will ever make me strike a deal Jafar" I answered, "Besides, I told you before. I want her to love me for me, and if she doesn't then it wasn't meant to be." Jafar laughed, "So naïve. So pitiful, you actually think that Jasmine will accept you. After what you did, I'm surprised that Aladdin hasn't killed you yet"

Yeah, there are a few things I may have forgotten to mention. For example, the night that Jafar turned me human, I accidently ran into Jasmine. No surprise there, right? But then something, unexpected happened...


	11. A Night To Remember

Chapter Eleven

A Night to Remember

It all started about seven minutes till midnight, right before Jasmine had that magic carpet ride. I was walking around the palace, trying to figure what I should do, when I saw Jasmine head towards the garden. Half curiosity and half desire guiding me, I followed her.

Ever since I stopped tutoring Jasmine, I haven't entered the garden. I guess I didn't want to be reminded of what I almost had, but couldn't quite grasp. The expenses to fix it by the way cost the Sultan a million dollars, half of what he originally paid for it, but walking the garden now, I realized that it was worth every penny. Flowers of all different types surrounded the large expensive fountain, trees that were as high as the balconies scattered the landscape. The fountain in the center though, was the masterpiece of the whole design.

Jasmine sat on the fountain looking out towards the moon. I silently came over and bowed my head, "Princess" I said, making sure to use an accent that matched my appearance, it was easy for me considering that I am- was, a parrot. Jasmine turned around and met my gaze, "Who are you?" she asked curiously, as I took a seat next to her, "I've never seen you before"

The trick with impersonations is to never, ever lose the voice. If you lose the voice, the whole thing is busted. I had to answer in the next three seconds or face alienating myself, which would've been the better option, but I wasn't thinking long term here. "My name is Samuel" Samuel? I was supposed to be an Indian diplomat, mistake number one. Jasmine laughed anyway, "What kind of name is that? That's can't be right" "It's not" I quickly replied, "It's just a tactic Indians use for the rest of the world. You'd be surprised how many people can't pronounce our names"

Well that was easy. Maybe a little too easy, I thought. I would have to make it harder next time around. As much as I wanted to, I had so far prevented myself from breaking the lie, I was in too deep and I already ran out of ideas. I was stuck as Samuel, the Indian diplomat. It was terrible.

"You're funny" she said after several moments of silence, "Thank you" I answered as I stood up, "It's been a pleasure talking with you" I bowed as gentlemanly as I could and before I could even blink Jasmine kissed me. It was surprising and sudden, confusing and right, in a word-magical.

When she broke it, I was standing there like a complete idiot. "Thanks for that" she exclaimed, "I've been needing someone to understand" Again, what did I do? I didn't do anything. All I did was give her my name. We barely even talked. It was then I remembered, she was talking to me the entire time after I introduced myself, she told me about her dreams, her wants and desires. I knew what I had done, I had listened. From what I could tell, she had been saving that for the right person to come along, she would never kiss like that again.

There was nothing I really do, I could barely stand, I was afraid of going into shock. Then a wave of sudden happiness washed over me, it felt like dying and being reborn into the thing you were meant to be to the world. I walked over grabbed Jasmine's hand and knelt down, I was completely out of myself, my heart and my head were conflicting over what I was doing. My tongue was speaking words I didn't understand and my left hand was looking for something I didn't have. But in a way, I knew exactly what I doing, not only did I look like a complete idiot, but I was trying to propose. My head was so far lost in this cloud of euphoria that I actually said, "Will you marry me?" What the hell was I thinking? I couldn't marry Jasmine. I didn't expect myself to be human forever, which would most likely be the case but I was secretly hoping otherwise, so marriage was completely out of the question.

This is why when people say that love is drug, believe them. Because it most certainly is. Fortunately, Jasmine was smart enough to know that "Samuel" was completely insane and though slapped me right in the face and pushed me in the fountain.

Thanks a lot princess. That's what I get for trying to show my affections, a big face palm of doom and epic failure. Then Jasmine walked away, or rather ran away. To her, I had become the creeper rapist.

Taking a new route to my room, I sat on the bed and thought about what I am done. I just did the bravest thing that I have ever done in that point in my life. The least I could've gotten was a response. It didn't matter if she would've yes or no, my heart would've gone down into my stomach and explode on impact. But that was an impossible feeling now, for it was broken, shattered into a million tiny pieces beyond repair.

Looking back on it, I realize that what I did was extremely stupid. But love can make people do really stupid things, stupider things that even I would be willing to do.

I turned towards her balcony; I could see her now looking once again at the moon. The moon represents so much to me, but the most important thing, hope. Hope that one day I can be Aladdin, that I could have the one thing that my heart desired most.

Aladdin came up to her on Carpet; I could already tell what they were going to do. He would take her for a ride and I could already tell what was going to happen on that ride, just by the way they looked at each other. They would fall in love, I remembering both my promise to the father and my own personal obligation, I had to make sure that it happened.

I had to move fast. I ran down to the stables to find Lafayette, the Sultan's camel and my best friend. "Lafayette" I whispered, "Lafayette!" He looked up at me as if I were a normal human, "It's me...Iago" His expression turned from a blank, mile long stare into one of bewilderment and confusion. "Jafar turned me human" Lafayette rolled his eyes, "Yes I know it's a big surprise. The guy's a psychopathic lunatic" Lafayette smiled at my joke, "Come on" I pressured, pulling him out of the stables, "I need your help" Lafayette complied and grabbed his own saddle which he put on with a flick of his tail. It amazed me how he could do that.

Saddling up on Lafayette, I headed for the palace gates and waited for Aladdin to pass by. It was then that ominous music began to play in the background, which meant that things were about to get serious. As soon as I saw Carpet fly over the gate, I spurred Lafayette and we ran after them.

I could hear Aladdin's singing, he was doing the whole scene wrong by the way. He was supposed to stay inside Agrabah, but then the song wouldn't make much sense considering that it's called, "A Whole New World" for a reason.

Luckily for me, Lafayette has a bit of magic of his own. It didn't matter where we would run, Aladdin and Jasmine would always be overhead, and somehow we were crossing the world. When we came upon the Sphinx, we had to avoid getting crushed by the giant nose piece that fell as the clumsy builder broke on the most well known artifacts of the ancient world.

How we did the whole song, which is close to about two minutes and still manage to circumnavigate the globe and be back at the palace by the song's end is a mystery to me. That's Disney magic for you, it makes anything possible, have nothing make sense and not leave you with a headache afterwards.

It was then that I saw Aladdin get the real kiss. The kiss that I wanted, the thing that I had longed for, had become his. I saw him swoon over it and I knew immediately that he was love, which meant that my job for looking out for him had become that much harder.

I needed to get a face to face; it technically wouldn't be breaking any rules if I were discovered now, since I was a human. After putting Lafayette back in the stables, I walked into the garden.

By the time I got there, Aladdin was ranting to Abu, who was now an elephant, about his situation, "What am I going to do?" he said hysterically, "Jasmine thinks I'm a prince!" I couldn't help but think to myself how overdramatic he was being, I mean if anything I should be the one freaking out, but honestly I was perfectly calm-sort of.

"I think it's time for bed Al" Genie said as he appeared sitting on the fountain, Abu nodded his head, but Aladdin kept talking, "I don't think I can do it" Genie looked concerned, "What are talking about?" Aladdin then looked sorrowfully at him, "I can't wish you free" What did he say? Freedom, is that even possible? Genie slumped his shoulders, obviously depressed and hurt, "Oh, I see" he whispered softly, "I'll just...um...be here, if you need me Master"

With that Genie disappeared into his lamp, leaving Aladdin and Abu alone. But Abu really was tired and soon drifted off the sleep. I took this opportunity to approach Aladdin, who was now staring blankly at the moon.

"How's it going?" I started, trying to break the ice. Aladdin turned to me suddenly, "Who are you?" he asked, "I'm Samuel. Foreign diplomat here on humanitarian business requiring the Sultan's aid." Aladdin stared at me with curiosity, "Your name is Samuel?" I nodded, I had to keep up with lie if I was going to succeed, "Pleasure" he said extending his hand in greeting which I took, "My name is Aladdin" Taking a seat on the fountain we were silent for several minutes, both of us unsure on how to continue the conversation.

"I couldn't help but overhear your predicament" I spoke trying to get to the root of the situation, "Really" Aladdin replied as he looked up, "So I guess you know I'm a fake huh?" I nodded in agreement, "You could've convinced otherwise though" Aladdin rubbed the back of his head and took of his hat, "Any advice?" I sighed, I couldn't believe that I was doing, "Don't rush anything. Especially with her" I pointed up to Jasmine's balcony, "Her shields may be up, but all it takes is a little bit of trust for her to lower them" Aladdin laughed at my analogy, "What do you I should do?" "Be yourself." I answered, "Listen more than you speak and everything that you do, know that she will find out, so act as if you were singing a song; a song that you put every ounce of yourself into." The inner teacher had emerged in me once again, I began comparing everything to music, songs and random life lessons-I guess that part will never change.


	12. Declaration of Love and Independence

Chapter Twelve

Declaration of Love and Independence

You imagine that my advice worked. I guess I'm a better teacher than even I thought. Sitting back at my table, I waited for the musical act to appear.

Mickey appeared on stage, "Ladies and Gentlemen, without any further interruptions...Aladdin and Jasmine" What? Mickey left stage and sure enough, Aladdin and Jasmine were sitting on Carpet, doing a rather boring and interesting version of A New Whole World. It was time to spice things up a bit.

Aladdin started off, "I can show you the world" I couldn't take this much longer, so I chimed in, "See with your own eyes now, Come closer and meet me on the magic carpet ride" Aladdin looked at me with a "What the hell are you doing?" look but I ignored it. Flying over to them, I continued, "I can lift up your soul. Make you see things a new way. Can you hear it?" The sound-" I was too afraid to finish the verse, luckily Jasmine caught on and finished it for me, "Of our love as it takes flight"

Carpet then took the cue of the song speeding up and began flying around the room. Aladdin and Jasmine then began singing their version, which was now once again boring and completely off topic. It was the end of the third verse and moving into the fourth, but that was where my declaration of love was, so I decided to screw Aladdin over and sing it anyway, "I can see you with him" as soon as I said that they both turned around, Good. "The boy who I raised and knew. Growing closer, it pains me. To see such romance in the bloom" Flying in and landing on Carpet, to make the situation more intimate, I continued once again, "He can give you your world. He can make it better. What am I? Nothing, compared to him" Aladdin was now close to punching me in the face, so I took this as a cue to stop singing.

Carpet flew back over towards the stage, Aladdin then began, "A whole new world" I chimed in, "Someday the sun will rise" Jasmine for some reason took the cue and sang with me, "and when the morning comes, this heart knows, your love was meant to be" I stopped in mid flight, something about her singing with me made my heart skip almost four beats, as if I had died and gone to heaven and returned after hearing the voice of a thousand angels.

I simply watched as they end their song in the traditional way. I didn't even bother chiming in or have them use my version of the song. For this was their moment after all, the moment when nothing else in the world mattered but them, as if they were the giving everyone in the room a gigantic middle finger and they didn't even care.

Landing like I would on a branch to a tree, I found myself at Adam and Belle's table, accompanied by Lumiere, Clocksworth and Chip. Turing back towards the stage, I whispered my final lines, "The world is yours, see what's in store. My heart shall be, waiting here, forever more" Hanging my sadly, I began to cry, I never cried about anything. "What's with him?" That was Clocksworth, always ironically oblivious to his surroundings, "Come now Clocksworth!" Lumiere, more sympathetic, "Can't you see that he is in pain." Chip looked at Lumiere and then at me, "What pain?" he replied, "He looks fine to me" I turned around and spoke, my voice barely audible, "This type of pain, you cannot fix, even with all the magic and all the time in the world." Belle had a sad look on her face; she always took it upon herself to project other people's pain and misery into herself, that they might feel better, "What's wrong Iago?"

I laughed, I don't know why I laughed, but I did. It felt good; it meant that I hadn't lost my sanity, at least not yet. "It's none of your concern Belle" I answered, "Just me picking up the billion pieces of my heart that have been shattered by my own doing, in order to protect the people I care about" Lumiere stood on the table and walked over to me, putting a hand over my shoulder, "Why would you break your own heart?" he said, "Because it's the only way to let her know" Lumiere moved over to Clocksworth, "Told you so, it's about a girl" Turning back over to me, he spoke again, "Who is she? This mystery woman?" I stared at me as if he were the biggest idiot on the planet, if had been listening at all to the performance he would've saw it, but I guess he, like everyone else was too lost in their own fantasies to even give me notice. "It's Jasmine" I exclaimed. Lumiere, Clocksworth and Chip hung their heads, wither in shame of what I had said or sadness for me it made no difference, I didn't care.

Before I could have any sympathies flung upon me, I flew away. I wasn't looking for sympathy, I didn't need it. What I needed was for people to listen, I was practically screaming my voice, my song and my soul out to the world, a world that was both deaf and blind.

It wasn't long before Aladdin came over to my table. I had never seen him so angry before, I thought he was going to go off on me, but I wasn't even close, "What the hell was that?" he yelled as he picked me up, "What was what?" I asked, slightly afraid for my life, "You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Aladdin was screaming as he began shaking me, I tried to diffuse the situation, "I was just-"Aladdin laughed as he shook me harder, "You were declaring something weren't you?" I nodded, there no point in lying or keeping the secret up any longer. But before I could say anything, Jasmine walked up, "Aladdin put him down" Aladdin grumbled to himself and did as he was told and sat me down on the table.

Looking up at Jasmine, I was speechless; I couldn't say what I my heart desired most. The courage that I had before was now gone, replaced by utter shame and fear, "Iago" Aladdin said firmly, "What were you declaring?" I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know. Love, freedom, it's your pick. It doesn't matter, whatever it was." I was shaking, my feathers started to molt but they could fall off as much as I cared, all I wanted was to get out of this situation and there was only one way to do that. Aladdin gazed at me with an ever staring glare of death, but looking into his eyes, I spoke the truth, "I love Jasmine. I know it may be hard or difficult for you to believe but I love her." Turning towards Jasmine I spoke again, a little faster this time, "As sure and true as the sun rises and sets each morning, like the sun and the moon, my love is something that will never go away."

Instead of hitting me on the head or cursing me, Jasmine picked me up and threw me across the room, it was the greatest love denial face palm ever given. Standing up, I immediately went back over, I wasn't finished yet. I was just about to speak when Aladdin drop kicked me into next Tuesday; literally I thought it was next Tuesday. Shaking my head turning me back to reality, I flew up to where I could meet Jasmine's eyes, kissed her cheek and then proceeded to get my ass kicked a third time. But despite the bruises I have, my broken back and left wing and the emotional scars, it was worth it.

Now I'm lying on a bed, in a smelly hospital room. I would be back on the saddle in about three or four days, but the emotional therapy would take even longer, a projected seven years by psychologists. That was fine, as long as I was able to fly, continue speaking, able to sing and play music I didn't care what I had to do.


	13. Torture

Chapter Thirteen

Torture

I woke up tied to a table drawn and quartered. To my right was Abu, he was in a cage, to my left was Aladdin, in chains and also drawn and quartered on the wall.

The torturer, Mike came in, he was holding a large scalpel, which I assumed was for me, because in his left hand he was holding a bird skull. Walking towards me Mike laughed, it was nasally and sounded an awful lot like Lefou, "Ready to die bird?" he sneered, "Come on Mike" I said, "You know me, we're friends!" Mike huffed, "You hated me" I rolled my eyes, "Only because you kept feeding me those disgusting crackers! That, and almost assaulted Jasmine" Mike shrugged, he obviously didn't care. "Yeah, I really don't care about that Iago" he said as got directly in my face.

"Why can't you just leave him alone?" That was Aladdin, "He didn't do anything wrong" Mike laughed, "Oh really?" Mike moved a little closer to me, "The only thing I'm guilty of" I declared, "was falling in love with a girl who doesn't love me back. Is that a crime?" Mike then drove the knife into my stomach, "No" he sneered again, "But betraying Jafar was" He then walked over to Abu and Aladdin and released them, as if their form of torture was watching me die.

When Mike left, Aladdin immediately began pulling the knife out, but I stopped him, "Don't worry about me." I began coughing up blood, "just get out of here!" Without questioning me any further Aladdin left, followed closely by Abu.

Ten minutes later, I saw a portion of the palace, the western tower, fly through the air; I could hear Aladdin and Abu screaming inside of it. I could hear Jafar laughing, and I could hear Jasmine crying her eyes out. Do you know what the worst sound in the world is? It's whatever sound that makes your heart break the most and your mind undergoes the worst hallucinations imaginable, it's the sound that tortures you, that makes you afraid to go out at night.

Mike came back in the room, "The Sultan will see you now" I breathed in slowly, "He's a prisoner too" I said, Mike rolled his eyes, slightly annoyed, "Not that Sultan. Jafar" I nodded in understanding. Mike untied me from the table and then threw me on the floor, almost causing me to break my wings again. "Get up!" he yelled as he pulled out another scalpel and stabbed me in the back. Barely able to stand, I complied; the blood I coughed up was now darker, redder. I thought I was going to die, in all I had lost almost 1/3 of the liquid that keeps me alive.

Remember how I say earlier that my friends are the reason I'm still alive? Well that comes into play right about here. You see, Genie had apparently split himself into two halves, one good and one "bad". The good half was heading towards the torture room, while the "bad" half was with Jafar.

Mike pulled out a whip and began beating me with it, making sure to hit the scalpels driving them deeper and deeper into my body. Just as he was ready for second round, Genie burst in and threw him against the table, knocking over several deadly torture instruments. Among them were, axes, knifes, casting irons, drills, corkscrews, and a mirror. I know what you're thinking, how can a mirror be a torture instrument? If you've ever been in a medieval prison in the Middle East, you would be afraid of yourself too, especially after the guards beat you down to almost nothing.

After dealing with Mike and knocking him unconscious, Genie rushed over to me. I was dancing with the Devil; so to speak, I couldn't open my eyes to even look at him. Everything I did made the pain worse. It made me want to die, to just get it over with, but if I had died, there would be no story to tell.

Genie looked up at the sky and whispered something in Arabic, he put his hand on my chest, removing the weapons that had impaled me and healing any wounds that I had received as a result of the torture.

Standing up, I turned towards him, it was the Genie that I knew, all shiny and bright blue, "Thanks for that" I said, "It wasn't for you" Genie stated coldly, "You're the only one who can make this right. You have to stop Jafar" Of course, I did, what else was I going to do? Let everyone die on my account? No. "Agreed, but how? I can't be in two places at once" Genie laughed and snapped his fingers, a blue version of me appeared on Genie's shoulder. "What's going on Genie?" I asked, "This is your clone" he answered, "You can take two birds down with one giant, head crushing stone!" I turned to Genie in confusion, "But how will I know what to do? I can't be in control of him and me!" Genie laughed again, "You will be able to experience his experiences in your mind" I scratched my head, "Speak English please" Genie sighed, "Look, basically this guy" he pointed to the clone, "is just another part of your mind. A surrogate body" The clone looked at me and spoke, "I'll get Aladdin. This is personal for you now" With another snap of his fingers, Genie made the clone disappear, "Alright" I said, "but Aladdin isn't just going to go with that guy willingly" Genie sighed again, getting extremely annoyed, "I'll take of care it, now go save your princess!"


	14. Battle Royale

Chapter Fourteen

Battle Royale

Getting in the throne room through the upper balcony, I knew that Jafar would most likely have traps along the way; otherwise it would be too easy. I could see Jasmine, who was trapped inside the hourglass, and the Sultan, tied to his own throne while Jafar stood before him. Jafar's usual methods would be taken to the extreme, so I had to be extremely cautious.

Almost directly in front of me, hidden in the corner, was an axe primed to swing forward and chop anything that triggered the wire a few feet in front of it. On the right side of the room there were several guards posted, it would be impossible to avoid them. Further along the way was a chandelier, set up similar to the axe trap and finally the hourglass in the center of the room, if I laid a finger on it, the sand would go down and Jasmine would be dead within minutes.

Flying over the wire and avoiding the axe itself, I managed to hide myself behind a large pillar. The guards were armed with large swords, facing them head on would be suicide. Above my head was a large shield, silently grasping it, I could only think of one thing to do, run blindly, hope that I hit somebody and that they felt extreme pain.

Aladdin was tossing and turning as the tower flew through the air, landing roughly on a mountain side in the wilderness of Northern Serbia. Taking Abu by the neck, Aladdin noticed a window opening in the building and took it, making an impression in the snow and escaping the tower just in time for it to fall off the cliff face.

It was at this moment that my clone appeared. "Come on" he said, "We have to get out of here" Aladdin stood up, "What you want?" he asked, the clone sighed, "There's no time to explain. Just trust me if you want to help save everyone that you ever cared about" Aladdin wasn't buying the story, "What's going on?" The clone then frowned and transformed into Genie, "Just shut up and listen to me!" he said, then suddenly transforming back into the splitting image of me. So that's what Genie meant when he said he would take of it? It didn't make a lick of sense to me, but all I could do was watch anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

The shield running not only worked, but it was flawless. I didn't even know I could do that, I guess it's true what they saw, you never know what you're capable of until your life or someone you care about is on the line. Avoiding the chandelier just like the axe, there was only one thing remaining, Jafar. I was now exactly opposite the balcony that I had entered the room, giving me the prefect vantage point and within listening distance to hear Jafar's conversation with Genie, who was cowering slightly behind the throne.

"I trust you can guess what my next wish would be?" Jafar hissed, Genie shook his head, "I have no idea sir. I grant wishes, I can't predict them" Jafar smiled at Genie for selling himself short, "Quite right Genie. For my second wish, I wish to be the greatest wizard in the world" You have got to be kidding me! Jafar would be unstoppable if that happened.

Before I could react, fly over or do anything, Genie had made it so. Jafar was now the most powerful being in the room, well almost. He had overlooked the fact that Genie was all powerful, his ego had gone entirely to his head. As if on cue, Aladdin, Abu and the clone burst into the room. The clone disappeared, and I felt a slight tingle in my body.

"Give it up Jafar" Aladdin said, "You already lost" Jafar laughed, "And what part of me losing was because of you?" he sneered, "Face it Aladdin. You've done nothing! Nothing but fall in love with Jasmine, and only one person can do that- me!" Aladdin was now extremely confused, "So that's what this is about? Love!" he then began to laugh, "How pathetic is that Abu? This clown actually believes that he has a chance with her" He pointed towards Jasmine, who only looked on in shock. Jafar moved closer, "You're nothing but a Street Rat. You were born a Street Rat; you will die a Street Rat. When you are gone from this world, your fleas will be grateful, Jasmine will leave you, and that monkey will eat at your bones without a second thought!" Jafar was starting to scare the living hell out of me. His extremely detailed description was not only terrifying but it sounded as if he would make it happen.

I was done talking, and so was Aladdin. Great minds think alike I suppose, because we both rushed towards Jafar at the exact same moment. Jafar blindsided Aladdin with his staff, knocking him over, but I had managed to grab his robe and hoist him above the air. "I've had enough of you Jafar!" I yelled, gaining some strength as my adrenaline increased, "Let go of me you fool!" Jafar screamed, "If you insist" I replied, I let go of Jafar, unintentionally sending him hurling into Aladdin.

Jafar was quick to pin him to the ground. Pulling out a dagger, I could tell that he wasn't about to waste any time in doing the deed, "Any last words boy?" he sneered, "Yeah" Aladdin said turning towards me, I nodded and spoke in Jafar's voice, "I wish to be an all powerful Genie" Jafar stopped, he couldn't believe what I just said. But even still, Jafar thrust the dagger into Aladdin anyway, missing his heart by almost inches.

Standing up and bowing, Jafar smiled at me, "I knew you would come around eventually" He looked over at Jasmine, not caring that Abu had broken the hourglass, setting her free. "You see Iago, I always get what I want" Then, a loud smoke cloud appeared, followed by several rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning. Jafar the Wizard/Grand Vizier was no more, for he was now Jafar the All Powerful Genie.

Jafar turned to Genie, "Genie! I had one final wish!" What? "I did not wish for this directly. But I will gladly take it." Jafar saw the appearance of his own Lamp and smiled demonically. Genie knew that what Jafar said was technically true, since I had spoken in his place; Jafar still had one wish remaining. Jafar laughed as he spoke once more, "I wish for Iago to join me in the Lamp and make Aladdin and Jasmine forget he even existed" Genie nodded, ignoring that the fact that Jafar had granted two wishes, but then noting to himself that my wish didn't count and as a rule automatically awarded Jafar an additional free wish to his third one.

A whirling vortex then consumed both me and Jafar, I tried to escape it as best I could, but Jafar grabbed me in a death lock. I was completely powerless. I watched as the second part of the wish took effect, Aladdin and Jasmine's face were glazed over; Jafar was crushing me with hatred and misery. I wanted to scream, but the wind had taken my breath away, as I continued downwards into the Lamp, I let my mind become free of everything, the last thing I saw was Aladdin take Jasmine by the cheek as he kissed her lovingly. Then it all went black.


	15. Hell

Chapter Fifteen

Hell

Everything was cold. My limbs were frozen to the side of the Lamp, I was motionless. The only thing I could see was Jafar; he looked demonic, for he was cloaked in fire, trying to free himself from the chains that held him against the wall. "I hope you're happy Iago" he yelled from across the room, "Because of you I'm stuck in these infernal chains!" I laughed, "Really?" I said, "So this is my fault? Well maybe you should've thought about that sooner when you took Genie up on the offer, you could've denied it if you wanted to. But no, you just _had _to become an even bigger asshole than you already were!"

Jafar shrugged me off, "This is your fault! You're the one who made the wish." I huffed, "Yeah, to stop you from killing people and being a crazy psychopath!" Jafar picked me up, breaking my frozen limbs in the process of freeing me. "You're a fool! Any Hell with you in is worse than Hell itself!" It was then that he threw me against the wall.

Seeing no other option, I limped my way to the exit, the Lamp's small hole. I was barely able to get myself through, but I made it. Sitting in the sand, unable to move, I sat next to Jafar's Lamp. I didn't dare rub it. After several hours, I managed to get myself to stand, and I headed for the one place that I knew I could go. I headed to my parent's house.


	16. Love Is A Knife to the Heart

Chapter Seventeen

Love is a Knife to the Heart

Okay here's the deal with my parents, appearance aside for now, they're crazy. Like psychopath killer crazy. Every year when I would make my annual visit back to the family home, I had to watch every move I made or risk getting a knife in my back.

You could also say that they're the reason why Jafar "found" me. I was up in that tree to escape the throwing knifes and random death traps that were a constant threat at the house, so I guess in a way, Jafar saved my life, although comparing life under Jafar with life under my parents, my parents were saints.

So if my parents are crazy and out to kill me, then why would I visit them every year? Here's why, because in their own way they actually loved me. I had six brothers but none of them made it past adulthood, they died by natural causes, so I guess it kind of sent them over the edge with me. They are firm believers in reincarnation, apparently thinking that if I die, I can bring back Othello, the oldest and obvious favorite. I don't believe in reincarnation, but I know that it doesn't work that way.

Knocking on the door, I was greeted by my mother, who was hiding a filet knife behind her back, "Iago!" she said as she opened the door, "Please come on in" Reaching around for a hug, I grabbed the filet knife and threw it on the floor, "Now you know that we're not a hugging family" she exclaimed after I broke the embrace, "I know Mom" I answered, "I just missed you so much" She smiled at me, the only thing that was ever warm about her, the reason that Dad fell in love with her to begin with. "Your father is out I'm afraid" she said as we began walking through the house, I was making sure to avoid the trip wire that was placed in the middle of the floor, the pressure sensor on the couch where we sat and ducking as a large swinging blade of doom came towards my head.

After inspecting the room for any more death traps, I felt comfortable enough to touch things in and around the house. It was then that I heard Mom sigh loudly, "Why can't you just die like the others? I want my Othello!" She began crying, she was very upfront about that, for Othello was attempting to follow her and Dad's footsteps and try to kill me. But then he got sick, and never got better. Mom and Dad never really healed after that, they were only shells of what they used to be.

I nodded and let her cry it out, the only thing I would let Mom do without raising my suspicions of an attack, they be crazy, but they weren't cruel. "I know Mom" I whispered softly, "I know. I miss him too" Othello was the only one who actually showed me anything that was close to affection. I think deep down he didn't want to kill me, but rather he wanted to make Dad happy, and if that meant serving my head on a platter, then that's what he would've done. Now I think about it, if I was a bit younger at the time, I probably would've let him do it, because he would make it quick and utterly painless and I knew that he would cry his eyes out afterwards.

"It makes me proud that you're in music" she said as I moved a little closer, "There's nothing here" she raised her wings, showing me nothing but that, "I just want to hold you dear" So I let her embrace me. We are not a hugging family by any means, but when Mom gets emotional, she just needs someone to hold. But I kept one eye wandering the entire time, watching for any signs of her making a move for a dagger or a poison dart. Nothing happened.

Standing up, I took this as my cue to leave. I wanted to be gone before Dad got home. Who knows what kind of crazy thing he would try and kill me with, I was just about to open the door, when I saw a large tree truck on a rope swing towards me. Getting out of the way just in time, I watched as the tree destroyed the door, property damage could only be caused by one person-Dad.

Rushing outside I looked around, I could Dad perched on the tree that was still standing in the front yard. "We failed again dear" Mom yelled through the house, causing my Dad to fly down from the tree and meet me. "You're a hard bird to kill" Dad stated firmly, "That's good. It means you're smart" I embraced him, I hadn't seen him in years, also taking the knife that he had hidden in the fold of his back and throwing it across the yard. "It's good to see you Dad" I said as I broke it, "It's been too long, Iago" Dad replied, "We missed you" I laughed, "I could tell. But it looks like I'll be sticking around a bit longer" Dad laughed, "It appears that way. We won't keep you any longer. Go out and experience the world" That he way of saying goodbye, sounding like the wise old man that only gave mentoring advice once and never appeared again for the rest of the story. But unlike that wise old man, he was Dad. He would appear whenever I needed him, to try and kill me once again.

That is why I went to my parents place. I needed a refresher course in Survival 101. I was now ready to take on what I would, and so headed towards Agrabah.


	17. The Way Of Things

Chapter Seventeen

The Way of Things

The next time I was at the House of Mouse, I made sure that there was no possible way that I could cause any attention whatsoever. I had Mickey erase me from the roster of attendance and Goofy made sure not to send any waiters to my table that night. But that didn't stop people from noticing me.

It was long until I found myself center stage again. Jiminy Cricket, the conscious of Pinocchio, walked over to me and sat at my table. Initially, Jiminy struck me as annoying, always hanging around and asking questions hoping that you'd figure out the answer on your own and realize something that was usually deep inside of yourself the whole time.

"So what's on your mind friend?" he asked as he drank from a small water glass, "Nothing" I answered, "Can't you just leave me alone?" Jiminy sighed, "That kind of attitude won't get you anywhere in life" I huffed, "Please don't tell me how I should live. You don't know anything about me" Jiminy extended his hand, "How about this? We'll start with names. Jiminy Cricket" I complied much to my displeasure and took his hand, "Iago the Parrot"

Jiminy sat on the unlit candle in the middle of the table and began asking questions, "What's your affiliation?" he began. Affiliation? That could only mean one thing in the Disney Universe, Hero or Villain. "Neutral Party" I answered, Jiminy frowned, a rare if not unheard of occurrence, "This is no neutral" Jiminy said, "You're either a good guy or a bad guy" I stared at him, my eyes were burning with rage, "Who says I need to label myself?" I shouted, almost knocking him off the candle. Jiminy straightened himself out, "Come on Iago. You know just as much as I do that is the way of things here" I nodded, I knew that he was right, there is no grey areas in Toon Town or the Disney Universe, there is only black and white, good and evil.

Looking around, I noticed that this was all too clear. On the right side of the room sat the Heroes, on the left were the Villains. There was a large aisle in the middle of the room that served as a dividing line. My table was placed on the edge of the aisle in the Villains section, as it always was. Jiminy's table was squarely dead center in the Heroes. That's another thing, where the tables were set, determined where you fell in the hierarchy of the two sides. The more inward you were, the more aligned you were, the same principle goes for the balconies, which were reserved for the best of the best. The only place that wasn't this way, was in Amazon's Rest in the rafters, that was privately owned.

As if this wasn't enough, the Heroes and Villains were segregated further by class. In my book there are three kinds of Hero patrons- The Royalties, The Sidekicks and The Subjects. On the Villains side there are four- The Wizards/Witches, The Gods/Titans, The Gangsters and the Homicidally Insane. But there is another group that exists within both Heroes and Villains, the Outcasts.

The Outcasts are the ones who don't belong to any particular group. They are also the group that everyone hates, because they don't have a side. They are the grey area. The thing about The Outcasts is that they don't immediately judge you based on wither your a Hero or a Villain. They see your heart before anything else, next they look at your situation to see if your heart if justified and finally they look at your goals. It doesn't matter if the goals are for good or ill, as long as you have them. Which is why they are the only group that has both Heroes and Villains inside of it.

Another thing about the Outcasts, once you're a member you're a member for life. You are sworn to protect your group and defend their honor at any cost. Which is why they are so few in number and extremely selective. They do not forget their purpose, to stand together in the clam of the storm, to be there, because the world no matter if you look left or right is the same, cruel and unforgiving. That's why they stand together, and the reason why the Heroes and Villains that are members get along, because they are all they have.

To hear anyone else tell it, The Outcasts are a stain on society. Even Mickey disagrees with them, but I think they're on to something. That maybe we could just end this hostility and be people, become more than what we are and be free from the chains that we have linked together and locked ourselves in.

I must have zoned out because Jiminy was almost directly in my face, "Hello?" he said, obviously annoyed, "What" I asked still stupefied, "did you say something?" Jiminy sighed, "Never mind. I wanted to help you, but clearly you are beyond help" I shook my head, "Beyond help? Do you have any idea what you are saying?" my voice was getting louder but I didn't care, "You're saying that I can't become one of you!" Jiminy nodded, "That's exactly what I'm saying. You're in too deep" I huffed, "In too deep! let me tell you something. The day that Jafar found me, was the worst day in my entire life! I watched as thousands of people died and couldn't do anything about it."

I looked around, people were beginning to stare at me and listen to my ranting, but I continued, "That's not even half of it! I was with Aladdin every step of the way. I saw his mother, limp and lifeless, and I cried along with him. How do you think he ended up at the flat? Me. Abu? Me again. Saving Aladdin from falling off a cliff into a frozen? Me. Putting Jafar in the Lamp and saving the world? Me." If this is starting to sound self centered, believe me I'm not trying to be. I was just plain furious at Jiminy, at Aladdin, but most of all myself for letting all this emotion sit and fester in my soul.

Breathing heavily, everyone who still had interest shrug me off as trying to get attention, after all I was a Villain, and everything that I just mentioned doing, Aladdin got credit for, minus the mother of course. The only one who seemed to believe my anger was Genie and he already knew about it all, so he doesn't really count.

I had enough of the House of Mouse, I had enough of the everyone pretending that it was okay that something like this, the segregation, the harsh words, things like that,were perfectly normal. Flying up on stage, I grabbed the microphone and began to speak. "Ladies and Gentlemen" everyone turned my way, "if you would allow me to have a serious discussion. Those of you who want to leave can go, but if you want to change your life, stay and listen." I stopped and gave everyone a chance to back out, no one did. They were glued to me. Good. I continued, "What is going here? Look at yourselves!"

I stepped off the stage and went into the center of the room, commanding the attention of the entire house, "What are we doing? There is literally a line separating us!" My voice grew louder with each passing word, but I didn't care, "Do we really have to go with what we are supposed to be?" Everyone began staring at me as if I was an insane lunatic, and to some I probably was, but I knew what I was talking about, "Who says that we can't make our paths. Walt Disney created us to be the heroes and the villains sure, but he didn't say that we had to be those things. We are who we want people to believe we are, not what we want to be for ourselves." This got people thinking I could tell, the stares of confusion immediately morphed into stares of wonder and amazement, as if I were talking directly to them, stating exactly what it was they were doing to themselves.

I flew up towards one of the balconies on the Villains side, to show the Heroes that my conversation wasn't one sided. Looking around, I saw faces full of malice and hate, I had to turn that around, "You want so much from the world. You never stop and see that on the inside you are your own worst enemy. That the very thing you desire you will never be able to have, because of your own faults and deeds in getting that thing. It's extremely ironic, but you know it's true." It was a little off topic, but at least it got the Villains to stop staring at me like they were, instead they cast their eyes downward in utter shame, even Jafar looked worried.

I redirected myself to the topic at hand, "This whole segregation thing, shouldn't exist. We are better than this, and it's not because we're Disney or because Walt had a hand in making us, it's because we are people." I paused, "This. This thing, now. Is our Civil Rights Movement. We have to be able to let us choose our own destiny for ourselves, not have it be set out for us! What's the point of living, if all we are doing is going by a rule book? So let's start over" I flew back on the stage, "Let's make our own destinies" putting the microphone back in its place, I stepped off the stage, tipped the waiter and walked out of the building.


	18. Back In The Saddle

Chapter Eighteen

Back In The Saddle

I flew as fast as I possibly could back to Agrabah. Landing on the palace balcony, I was greeted with the sight of Rajah eating his food next to Jasmine, who was brushing his fur. Great, just what I needed, to be eaten by that monster. I was just lucky that they didn't notice me, or that would've been the case.

Then I heard a loud rumble in the distance, I shrank back, fearing that somehow, Jafar had escaped the Lamp. If that happened, it wouldn't be as easy as it was the first time to get rid of him, the only way that would happen would be if the Lamp was destroyed.

But my luck it seems didn't run out on me yet, for it was not Jafar, not even close. It was Genie, yelling and screaming his head off at the sight of Aladdin as he rushed out on the balcony to meet him. "There he is!" Genie said as he put both Jasmine and Aladdin in a bear hug, "How's my favorite monarch of the world doing?" Aladdin laughed, he was a Prince, and it was true that he would eventually become Sultan, but that was only if the current Sultan died or retired and never in the history of Sultans did a Sultan retire. "I'm not monarch of the world" Aladdin replied, "There are formalities after all" Genie shrugged his shoulders, "Formalities? Who needs em! I say we just make you Sultan right now"

Genie stepped backwards, ready to do some magic, when he stepped on my tail feathers, I tried not to scream but it was no use. "Watch where you're going!" I yelled, but then immediately covered my beak. "Did you guys hear something?" Genie asked, Aladdin and Jasmine shook their heads no, and Genie continued with his magic. In an instance, Aladdin was back in the ever foreshadowing white robes of the Sultan. But Aladdin took them off, revealing his normal street clothes, "Thanks Genie" he said, "But right now, I'm content with how I am" Genie sighed understandingly, "I just want you to be happy Al"

With that they all went into the palace, everyone expect Rajah, who I was in plain sight of. "Great" I said to myself as Rajah ran over to me, "Just make it quick please!" I screamed, begging him to get it over with. It was then that I remembered a very important detail about myself, I'm a bird. Flying up, I barely avoided Rajah's teeth and claws, jus inches away from me. It was then that the chase began.

I flew through Jasmine's room and into the hallway. Checking the hallway before I continued, I listened for any signs of Jasmine, Aladdin or Genie, either or all three of them would be bad news for me. But with Rajah right on my heels, I didn't have much time to do a decent survey of the area, and so ran directly into the main chamber.

In the main chamber for some reason, was a long white table covered with food. The Sultan was busy doting around Aladdin, "Aladdin my boy!" he said, "I want you to be my new Grand Vizier" Aladdin was obviously shocked, he didn't know what to say, "I'll have to think about it" he replied. I have a knack for ruining things, because at that moment, I burst through the room, screaming for help and finding none as the cat chased me around the room.

"What's going on here?" The Sultan demanded, "What is that traitor doing here!" Aladdin was clearly enraged, but at the moment, I was currently occupied with not getting eaten to pay much attention, "I agree" he replied as he turned to the Sultan and said something I missed over the roar of Rajah. Jasmine walked over and gave an ear splitting whistle, stopping Rajah in his tracks and slamming me face first in a pillar.

Before I could even stand myself up, Aladdin had picked me up and sat me on the table. "What are you doing here?" he asked, well demanded, I tried to explain, but the words were caught underneath my constant whimpering of being caught so suddenly. "Well it's obvious isn't it?" Jasmine exclaimed, "He's spying for Jafar" This was too much, "Listen here!" I said, practically yelling over everyone, "I was _never _in league with Jafar. He tried to kill me too, remember?" Aladdin shook his head, "The only thing I remember was you stuffing crackers down the Sultan's throat, threatening to kill me and then letting Jafar become a powerful Genie"

What did Jafar do? He must've completely redesigned their memories to make it look like I supported him the entire time. It was heart breaking. I sighed, "Alright" I said, raising my wings in surrender, "You got me. I'll go quietly" Aladdin wasn't finished though, "I should have you executed for treason" he declared, "but we'll let the court decide what to do with you" it was then that I was forcefully dragged into prison, once again, drawn and quartered.

Sitting in the dark, damp cell gave me a lot of time to think. I knew that Aladdin was only doing this because it's what he thought was right and by all rights I should probably be dead, but that's life for you. I thought about Jafar and how much he had destroyed my life. He had taken away my family, Jasmine and now Aladdin. It was clear what needed to happen, Jafar had to die, and I had to be the one to see that it got done.

The door to the cell opened and who else would it be but Mike. Mike smiled at me, "How's it going?" he sneered, obviously he still remembered what had happened. Maybe if I could get him to see my side of things, he would let me go. "Look Mike" I started, "I know you were just following orders, like you are right now. But don't you think that this is pushing it a little bit?" Mike laughed, "I don't question my orders. I follow them" I huffed, what a Nazi. "Okay fine" I said, "Go ahead and kill me, I don't care anymore! Just know that if you do Jafar will come back and destroy everything." Mike thought about this, but he didn't think about it long, because he drew a sword and began sharpening it.

A knock at the door, Mike stood up to answer it, "Who is it?" A slight huff came from the other end, "It's Jasmine" What was she doing here? Mike opened the door and stared at her curiously, "What are you doing here? I'm busying preparing an execution" Jasmine looked at me and then back at Mike, "Last I checked. His fate was up to the court. Who ordered the execution?" Mike smiled, "Aladdin himself" I hung my head and then looked at Jasmine, begging her to let me go, "It's okay, Jasmine" I said, "If Aladdin wants me dead, then I must really deserve it"

Jasmine walked over to the table that I was chained to and released my bonds, "No one deserves death" she replied, "Not even you." I bowed as low as I could, hoping that she would remember at least a little bit of what we once had. "Thank you" I said, smiling to show my sincerity, but that was only meet with a sigh of disgust, "Put him in chains" she said as she turned to Mike, "Aladdin wants the trail to be public" then Jasmine left the room, leaving me to my fate.


	19. The Outcasts

Chapter Nineteen

The Outcasts

I flew down the street, wanting to get as far away from the nightclub as possible. I didn't care where I was going, as long as it away from the chaos and the hypocrisy. The thing about looking back at things you're running from, is that eventually you always run into something, and usually that something is the last thing that you want run into. So, I slammed head first into a telephone pole.

Lying on the ground and for second forgetting where I was, I looked up at the telephone pole and then my surroundings, a lone figure was standing in a dark alleyway to my right, looking ominously at me. "Who are you?" I asked, the figure walked forward a bit but didn't reveal anything in the face, "Come with me" I stood up, "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me who you are" A loud sigh came from the darkness, "Just tell him" it was a different voice, higher in pitch and almost sounding childish. It was then that the shadow of the voice appeared next the first. The first figure sighed, it was long and deep, "Alright fine. I think we've had enough cloak and dagger" Both of them then stepped into the street.

The figures were none other than Dodger and Oliver from New York City. Dodger was wearing a faded bandanna, while Oliver had on a small blue carnation, for what reason I had no idea. "What are you guys doing here?" I asked, "You should be back at the club" Dodger laughed, "They wouldn't let us in the front door, much less sit there" Oliver nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything. "What's going on?" I persisted, but instead of an answer they both headed back into the alleyway, so assuming correctly that they wanted me to follow, I did.

I was led to a rundown back lot, the fences were old and most of the boards were missing, garbage was plied everywhere and it smelled as if it had been that way for twenty years. Dodger and Oliver walked over to the pile of garbage and climbed on top of it, Dodger pulled out a garbage can and began banging on it calling the others. It was then that I saw the saddest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Quasimodo and Esmeralda were the first ones to come out, they were sitting on the rooftops watching the scene unfold. Next came the Beast and Lefou, who were sleeping under a pile of old newspapers, followed closely by Louis the Alligator and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The Outcasts.

I stared at them in utter confusion, "Why are you guys here?" I turned to Quasimodo, Esmeralda and the Beast, they had gotten their Happy Ending. The Beast looked up at me, for he had been staring at the ground the entire time, "Just because we got our happy ending, doesn't mean things stayed that way." I then looked at him again and realized that he was permanently, a monster. Quasimodo stepped forward, "We're here because..." he couldn't finish his sentence for he was beginning to cry, "Because we are gypsies" Esmeralda continued, "The original outcasts of society. The dirt on people's feet"

Dodger looked at me again, "Enough with the formalities guys" he said, "Let's get down to business" Oliver pulled out a small gavel and handed it Dodger, who banged it three times and then spoke "May all those who enter here, find comfort and safety with the knowledge that they will not be judged because of who they are."

Oswald, who had been silent the whole time, spoke first, "First things first" he began, turning towards me, "is he ready?" I blinked, "Ready for what?" Oswald laughed, "We heard the speech you made from three alleys over" The Beast continued, "Truly an inspiration." I laughed, "You want me to join you guys?" Everyone nodded, "I'm sorry" I began, "But I can't do that." Oliver sighed, "Then you are a hypocrite. Just like everyone." I nodded, "I'm not a hypocrite" Dodger got off the pile of garbage and walked towards me, "We understand Iago" he said, "Don't be like them. You're better than that".

I turned to Lefou, questions were raising in my mind, "Why are you here?" Lefou held his had up proudly, "This is where I belong. Gaston...he could never be what these guys are to me, a family." he put his hand on my shoulder, "Like you, I couldn't sit and watch as the world told me what I had to do . This is the 21st Century. It's time we stop acting and start living."

"Alright" I said, "Where do I sign?" Dodger and the others laughed, "You just did" Quasimodo answered. The Outcasts were once a group of people who were looked down upon because of what they stood for-humanity. Now, united as one, we were going to fight the never ending battle and if we failed, we would fail together. It was us against the world and for the first time, we had a fighting chance.


	20. Judge

Chapter Twenty

Judge

Mike pushed me into the throne room, it was now decorated like a courtroom. Apparently, the Sultan has a big and strong enough moving crew to make this room be almost anything. The floor was covered in velvet carpet, there were pews lining the carpet, reminding me more of a church than a courtroom. There was a pillory at the front of the room, I put my head inside and let Mike lock me in, I then waiting for Aladdin to begin listing off the charges.

Aladdin was sitting in the judge's chair, I looked to my right as much as I could and noticed that there was no jury, to my left it was the same. This could only mean one thing. Aladdin was the judge, the jury and the executioner, which means that I was going to die indefinitely. He pulled out a large piece of paper and began reading, "Iago. For the crime of conspiracy to commit murder, attempted overthrow of the kingdom, attempted murder, abuse of power, and using torture methods against our laws and customs, I hereby sentence you to death."

I began stuttering, "W-w-what kind of court is this!" I answered, "At least let the people decide" Aladdin nodded and turned towards the crowd who had massed in the pews and along the walls of the room, "Will anyone vouch for him?" A long pause, "Very well. I sentence you to death" Mike began laughing, almost demonically, but just as he was about to raise his sword to chop off my head right on the spot an amazing thing happened. "Stop!" A voice from above shouted from among the rabble, it was Genie.

Genie appeared next to me and freed me from the pillory, "I vouch for me" he said. Aladdin sighed, "If all the good it would do" he said, "Fine" he turned to me, "this is your last chance Iago. One slip up and you're dead" I nodded meekly and then headed as fast as my small and frightening wings could fly out of the palace and into the uproar of Agrabah.

Genie turned towards Aladdin, "Come on Al" he said, "Show a little compassion." Aladdin huffed, "Compassion? He tried to kill me Genie" Genie sighed, "No he didn't" Aladdin looked at him confused, "What are you talking about?" Genie pulled out a small pair of glasses and put them on, "That's a story best told at the beginning"

When Genie was finished, Aladdin had difficulty believing it. After all, it was farfetched enough, but even after hearing the truth, Aladdin still refused to believe it. "That's crazy Genie" he said, "Iago's in league with Jafar. He's always been that way. He deserves nothing less than the gallows" With that Aladdin stormed out of the room, and the crowd began to disperse back in the streets.

But I didn't leave the palace, I went back on the balcony, because I knew it would the one place where Aladdin would go. When I was watching him when he was younger, he would always stare out in the distance, as if he were looking for something that he couldn't find. The stare of a dreamer who had everything that he ever want and yet still found himself wanting more, or something greater. It was this stare that Aladdin gave.

Sitting on a nearby tree, I watched him as I always did. Like parent letting their kid wonder through the neighborhood for the first time, my gaze was locked on every moment Aladdin made, as if I was afraid that if I looked away for a even a second, something would happen. But something did happen.

Abu appeared and sat on Aladdin's shoulder. I hadn't seen the monkey much to be honest, I was too focused on Aladdin. From the look of him, he seemed to be doing well. It was then that Abu turned towards me, not saying much of anything, for he was a monkey, just giving a look of understanding. He didn't even bother Aladdin, who was looking out at the sunset, he just looked at me and nodded his head.

I flew down on the railing, I was practically next to Aladdin now, but he didn't notice me. I guess I have the misfortune of being forgotten easily, because Abu didn't notice me either and he was looking right at me. After several minutes of silence, I spoke, "Look" I said, "It's your right to think that I should die. I was in league with Jafar for a time, yes, but I never supported any of his ideals. Would you believe me if I told you that I did for you?" Silence. Abu stared at me again, now fully listening, "I did it for the Street Rats. I did it because I made an obligation to myself to make you a better person. I'd to think I succeeded, and so if it is your will to kill me. Push me off this balcony" Aladdin turned to me and placed his hands on my chest, I was ready for what was to come. I felt the weight of his hands pushing me off the balcony, until finally, he used all of it to pick me up and throw me towards the ground, landing in the fountain in a pool of my own blood and tears.

Because of that incident, I can no longer fly above 1,000 feet. This in addition to the psychological therapy makes my life extremely painful. I am on seven different medications for the rest of my life, sense I'm a cartoon that's forever.

If anything came out of that, it was the realization that Aladdin didn't give a shit about me. To this day, the only reason Aladdin tolerates me at all is because of what I did next.


	21. The Things We Do For Those We Love

Chapter Twenty One

The Things We Do For Those We Love

It wasn't long until I found myself going with Aladdin, Jasmine and the Sultan on an outing by the river. The river would've made for another perfect romantic scene, similar to the garden that me and Jasmine were in, all of that seemed like a lifetime ago.

I sat down by the river not trying to cause any trouble, when suddenly I felt a slight shift in the wind. Looking around, I saw nothing out of the ordinary and so continued staring at the fish who were happily swimming downstream without a care in the world. It was then that I heard someone come up behind me, followed by a cold and clammy hand, like the hand of a dead fish. My fear rose ever suddenly as I knew who it was, but then I heard it speak, "Poor Iago" it said, "You don't get it do you?" I turned around and met Jafar.

"H-h-how did you escape?" I asked, Jafar sneered at me, "Details Iago, don't really matter here. All that matters is that I'm here" Jafar picked me up and sat me on his shoulder, a position that I knew all too well, "What do you want?" I began, Jafar laughed menacingly, "I want Aladdin's head on a pike. Right next to yours" I was confused and terrified at the same time, "Why do you want Aladdin dead? He did nothing to you!" Jafar gave a dead man's stare, "I want Aladdin dead, because he is next in line to be Sultan" Of course that what it is. Jafar is obsessed with power and even being an All Powerful Genie couldn't compare with the materialism that being Sultan provided.

I flew up on a nearby branch, "Look" I began, "I know it's not him that you hate. You don't want to kill Aladdin, you want to kill me. That's fine. But what about this instead?" Jafar was intrigued, he would have to be in order for this to work, "I give you my service-forever, on the condition that you will leave Aladdin and Jasmine alone." Jafar thought about this, I could tell that he was weighing the options in his head. On one side, he wouldn't become Sultan, but on the other, he would have me, a ever binding servant for life. Jafar smiled and held out his hand, "You got yourself a deal" As soon as I took his hand, a bolt of lightning struck and we disappeared, never to be seen again in Agrabah or anywhere else...

It was close to noon by the time I returned to my hotel room. All I wanted to do was rest a bit, maybe watch some TV. As soon as I walked in the door however, I saw Jafar standing in the middle of the room. I flew over and looked at him, he was staring out the window, looking at the buildings, I'd say he was imagining them on fire followed by the screams of ten million people as they died in a burning inferno. If I had a bet a billion dollars...

"Iago" he stated grimly, "my friend, my servant" I was already concerned since he managed to get into my room, but his tone only made it worse. Turning towards me, Jafar pulled out his staff, "Your services are no longer required" In an instance, a green beam emitted from his staff and hit me square in the chest. It felt like my body was being ripped apart, every organ at that moment was blubbing up inside of me, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything.

Jafar breathed in heavily, the beam was making him stronger. Suddenly he stopped and I collapsed to the floor, "Congratulations. You just caused the death of everyone you ever cared about, by making me the most powerful person in the entire world" I stared at him with all the hate and anger I could muster, Jafar kneeled down and got right my in face, "I'll be sure to tell the others who really killed Aladdin. After all, you did swear your service to me, and now that service is complete." Without warning, Jafar disappeared and left me to die in the room.

This is another one of those times when friends really do matter. Because at that moment, Quasimodo and Dodger burst in, ready to attack. Seeing me on the floor, bleeding internally and only minutes away from death, Dodger carried me to Genie, who had been waiting outside the hotel.

After Genie healed me, I immediately sat up and looked at Dodger, "How did you guys know?" Dodger smiled, "I smelled that creep from the alleyway, he had a bad vibe about him so I decided to follow it. Lucky we did eh?" Quasimodo held out a blue carnation and pinned it my feathers, "Us Outcasts stick together. To the end" I smiled, "To the end"

A loud boom came from down the street, in the direction of the nightclub. I looked at Dodger, "Get to the nightclub as fast as you can. Bring the others" Dodger nodded and ran down the nearest alleyway. I turned to Quasi, "You're with me. If Jafar won't stop us, the staff will." Quasimodo nodded and immediately headed towards the nightclub. Genie put his hand on shoulder, "I don't know what it'll do, but if you'll have me, I'm ready"

Reaching the door of the nightclub, Quasimodo stared at Max, who was the usher, "Let me in" he yelled, Max shook his head, "I'm sorry Quasi. I can't do that" Quasimodo immediately went in a rage and pushed him to the ground, "This is a matter of life and death. Move!" I reached the door seconds later, followed closely by Genie and the three of us headed inside.

Jafar was standing in the middle of the room in front of a large cage covered by a sheet. A large circle of Villains and Heroes were around him, as if the whole thing were a gladiator match. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Heroes and Villains of all types, I give to you to the ultimate test!" It was then that he pulled the sheet off, revealing Aladdin tied in chains and gagged. The Heroes began to move, but as soon as they did so, Jafar pointed his staff at Aladdin. "One move" he threatened, "and the Street Rat dies!"

We stopped at the door. Quasi wanted to rush in head on, but I knew it would be suicide. Just like the in the throne room, we would have to use stealth. Up on the roof, I could see Dodger, Oliver and Esmeralda in the rafters, in the corner was the Beast, hidden in the shadows. I turned to Genie, "Your our messenger" Genie nodded and listened closely as I told him the plan. It was very simple, Quasimodo and Beast would do crowd control, getting everyone else but Jafar out of harm's way. Meanwhile, Esmeralda was to distract Jafar enough so that Dodger could get his staff and Oliver could free Aladdin, then I would somehow go in for the kill.

Genie then split himself into seven different pieces and conveyed the message, once that was done, the plan began. Quasimodo pulled the fire alarm, while Beast let out various deafening roars to scatter the crowd into a frenzy, ultimately causing them to leave the building.

Jafar looked around suspiciously, until his eye caught sight of Esmeralda, immediately transfixed on her dancing abilities. While this was going on, I moved a little closer, still remaining out of sight but managing to get inside the main room. Oliver opened the cage, but as soon as Aladdin stepped out, Jafar turned around and drew a dagger. Dodger left on top of Jafar with everything he had, but he wasn't strong enough and Jafar threw him off with ease, sending him into a pillar and knocking him unconscious.

Aladdin got behind Oliver, somehow protecting him, when Esmeralda drew her knife, but Jafar turned around and hypnotized her, causing her to stand there stupefied. Jafar then turned towards Aladdin, "So" he began laughing, "It seems that Street Rats stick together after all" I moved closer, "and here I thought that you were past all that!"

It was then that I remembered one very important thing. Jafar was a Genie, without his Lamp he would be unstoppable. I frantically began looking around for it as if my life depended on it, finally finding it nestled away in the corner of the room. It would be a long shot if I reached it in time, but I had to try.

Flying as high as I could, at the very moment that Jafar raised his staff, I began pushing myself to fly faster. Jafar placed a spell upon Aladdin, freezing him and everyone else on the ground in their tracks. It was all up to me. "I'm going to kill you" Jafar yelled to Aladdin, who said nothing, "Then I'm going to kill your friends-horribly" Reaching the balcony, I had one chance to make this right, picking up the Lamp, I flew just above Jafar's head. "Hey Jafar" I yelled, causing him to look up, his face now full on rage, "I'm growing really tired of this repetitiveness!" he screamed, shooting a blot of lightening my way.

Dodging the blot with relative ease, I tightened my grip on the Lamp, "Really Jafar?" I began, "That's the best you got? What happened to being an All Powerful Genie?" One of these days, I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut, because my saying that, only made the situation one million times worse. Jafar began laughing as he transformed into the demonic version of the Genie, "If you insist" he threatened, raising his hands and creating a large atomic energy source from nothing and then hurling it towards me, managing to knock me down. He then sent another one, this time causing half of the building to land on top of me, crushing my body and sending the Lamp flying across the room, landing on its side and freezing it, simultaneously making it indestructible.

Jafar stood before me, reverting back to the wizard. The only thing I was able to hear was the sound of his evil laugh, "You are worthless. Why do you fight when you know that it's futile?" he said, looking at him I answered, "I fight...because I'm the only one who can." Jafar laughed again, "What about Aladdin? Let him fight his own battles!" I smiled a bit, "It wasn't his battle to begin with, you know that. Besides, it's always good to know that you have friends backing you up" Jafar raised his staff, "Friends? Who needs friends when you have power?"

I stood up, if I was going to die, I was dying on my own terms, "I have strength through my friends" I answered, "Even if it goes unnoticed." Jafar nodded, "You're as pathetic as you are stupid" I raised my wings in surrender, "Then I'm the stupidest bird in the world." Jafar was done talking, raising his staff even higher, he slammed it down on the ground, producing a large wave of fire and ice, just one blast alone would be lethal. "The things we do for those we love" I whispered. Genie appeared suddenly, holding Jafar's Lamp, gave the Lamp to me and then disappeared.

As the blast drew closer, I held the Lamp in front of me, Jafar's eyes went from hungry with power, to terrified. I felt the heat of the fire burn my skin, coursing through my body and out the other side, then I felt nothing. At the same time, I heard the loud and sudden explosion of Jafar's final demise.

Everything that Jafar had done was immediately undone, the building returned back to normal, and The Outcasts along with Aladdin were unfrozen. Looking around, they all saw two piles of ash. On top of one of them, was Jafar's hat, on the other was the remains of a small yellow beak.


	22. The Things We Do For Our Friends

Chapter Twenty Two

The Things We Do For Our Friends

Dodger stared at the ashes, refusing to believe that I was dead, the others though, had easily drawn that conclusion. Mickey walked up and turned towards him, "Sir" he said, "It's time for you to go" Dodger looked at him with a confused look, "What?" Then it hit him, "A-a-are you kicking me out?" Mickey nodded, "You don't belong here" Dodger was close to knocking Mickey's teeth out, but he held his ground, "You're kidding right?" he was yelling so loud now that his voice began to hurt, "We just saved your asses!" He barred his teeth, but it did little no effect to scare of rouse the mouse up, "On top of that" Dodger added, calming down a bit, "Someone died today"

But even Mickey it seems has a heart that is as cold as stone, for he had The Outcasts thrown out of the building and for the second time, they were forever banned from entering it. Lefou looked at the others, "What can we do now?" he asked, no answer was given, "What we always do" Esmeralda answered, "Survive"

Soon they were all at the back lot as the night fell. Dodger was lying on top of the garbage looking up at the sky, wondering if I was looking at the same stars he was. He refused to believe that I was dead, even if the others accepted it, Dodger never gave up on me. "I'm coming buddy" he said to no one in particular as he rolled over on the makeshift bed.

Standing up and seeing that everyone else was asleep, Dodger had half a mind to set out on his own, even though he knew that finding me alone would be a long shot. Oliver woke from his light sleep and noticed that he was pacing the ground, thinking about what to do. Dodger never paced, and he never thought anything through. "What are you doing?" he asked, Dodger looked up, there was pain in his eyes, "I'm thinking...thinking that somehow he's alive" Oliver rolled his eyes, "Come on Dodge, we saw the ashes. Iago's death was confirmed" Dodger then stared at Oliver, "How many times has a Disney character died and not shown up minutes later?" Silence. "Exactly" he continued, "Heroes never die"

Oliver laughed at this, "But he wasn't a hero" Dodger stopped in his tracks, "Listen kid. Iago is a damned hero. He saved all of our asses back there!" Oliver nodded, "That may be true. But that doesn't mean he'll come back. That's up to Yen Sid"

Yen Sid, the master wizard and judge of life and death in the Disney universe lived at the top of Mickey Castle, a large fortress at the edge of Toon Town. Mickey Castle was by far the greatest architectural feat in the entire Disney universe. The north side of the castle was a tall pillar, at its tip was a large golden obelisk. But the south side was lower and more rectangular, resembling the front of the US Supreme Court. It was an oddity in itself, but it's what made it great.

Dodger climbed up the steps on the south side of the building and went inside. A fountain version of the statue of Mickey and Walt was seen in the middle of the room. To the right and left, a long set of escalators could be seen. Dodger walked over to the right side and began his ascent.

When he finally got to the top of the building, Dodger breathed in heavily, he had never been this high before and wasn't too keen when it came to heights. But he would have to put that fear aside, "Come on" he said to himself, "do it for Iago" he kept repeating this mantra as he opened Yen Sid's office door.

Yen Sid's office was dark, very dark. It was also very small, only enough room for a large desk and a chair when it came to furniture. In the middle of the room was Yen Sid's famous cauldron. Dodger stepped forward and cautiously approached the cauldron that Yen Sid was working over. "I've been expecting you" he replied, not looking up from his book, "You were?" Dodger asked, slightly afraid for his life, Yen Sid was not known for being malicious but Dodger didn't want to be the one to start that streak.

Yen Sid nodded in return, "You seek the revival of Iago?" he replied, "Is that a rhetorical question?" Dodger answered back, not wanting to see if Yen Sid had a bad sense of humor. Lucky he had one of the best in all of Disney, which is ironic. "Yes boy" Yen Sid laughed, "It was entirely rhetorical!" Yen Sid motioned over to the chair, which Dodger sat in awkwardly, for he was a dog and began searching for the right words to say.

They sat in silence for several minutes, "Why do you want to bring him back?" Yen Sid finally asked, this was a good question and one that Dodger didn't really have an straight answer for. He knew in his heart what it was, he was just too embarrassed to say it, for he did have a reputation to keep. Yen Sid raised his eyebrows, hoping for an answer, but none came, "If you do not know the answer" he stated, "Then how do you expect me to help you?" Dodger sighed deeply, "I want him back because I made a promise-" Yen Sid laughed, cutting him off, "Promises are nothing but empty words, until action is taken to fulfill it!" Dodger was offended, but he knew better than to get mad at Yen Sid, the guy could kill him in three seconds if he wanted to, but then he wasn't the kind of guy who would do that.

"Look" Dodger began, "Iago is my brother...we're not related, but we have something stronger than that. We suffer the same problems, have the same dreams and want what's best for everyone." Yen Sid nodded, taking it all in, "It sounds like you have a very strong friendship. Have you known him long?" Dodger shook his head, "That's the thing Sid" he replied, "I've only known for a day, and yet I feel as if I knew him my whole life!" Yen Sid smiled, "Good" he answered, "the friendship will only get stronger. The bonds of blood are nothing compared to the bond of blood"

Dodger was confused, "What does that mean?" Yen Sid walked over to the cauldron, "It's both literal and figurative. The bond of blood, your family, the people who gave you life and the bond of blood, the people you surround yourself with, those who you spill blood for." Dodger stood up and walked towards the cauldron.

Yen Sid drew a small knife, "Give your paw" Dodger wasn't sure where he was going with this but complied anyway. Yen Sid then made a large and deep cut in Dodger's paw and dropped the blood in the cauldron. Holding his paw and in slight pain, Dodger stared at the cauldron and watched as Yen Sid worked. With the wave of his hands, Yen Sid pulled out my ashes from his pocket and put them in the cauldron as well. Then he began to speak, "With this blood, I grant you life. With these ashes, I grant you a new soul." A series of bright green lights flashed deep inside the cauldron, followed by a large cloud of smoke.

It was then that I emerged from the cauldron, I was covered in my own ashes. Dodger looked at me in utter amazement as I stepped out of the cauldron and stood on solid ground once again. "What just happened?" Dodger asked, Yen Sid turned to him, "The bond of blood is now the bond of blood" Using Yen Sid's answer from earlier, Dodger deduced correctly that it meant that we were now brothers, both literally and figuratively.

Staring at me, Dodger smiled, "It's good to have you back, Iago" I smiled, "It's good to be back" Dodger embraced me like a parent would a son that they hadn't seen in twenty years and we continued that embrace for several minutes. It felt good to finally have someone care about you, to let you know that you mattered. At that moment I knew that our friendship would last, to this day I never had another friend like Dodger and I never will.


	23. Two Fathers

Chapter Twenty Three

Two Fathers

Three days later I returned to Agrabah. I wanted to be sure that things really were safe there. Nowadays, Agrabah is considered third world compared to the rest of the world, but Aladdin somehow managed to get some modern amenities like electricity, phone service and indoor plumbing.

But other than that Agrabah was definitely a cutthroat town, crime was at an all time high and the breaking and entering numbers were threw the roof, higher than murder or poverty, which had been steadily increasing over the past few years.

Heading over to the palace, I didn't bother going to the balcony. Instead I headed over to the main chamber. In the middle of the room was a large gazebo, which only meant one thing. Aladdin and Jasmine were finally getting married.

Feeling both extremely happy and sad that this was happening, I sat one of the several high pillars that lined the room and watched the situation unfold.

Aladdin was pacing the floor, making sure that everything was ready, "What else, what else? There's got to be something else?" Genie laughed, for he had already taken care of everything, "Don't worry Al. Just go get ready for your big day." Aladdin sighed and turned to Genie, "Do you think he'll be here Genie?" He? For a second I hoped that he was talking about me, I was technically still considered dead by the community. Genie sighed, "Honestly kid" Genie never called him kid, "I doubt that your Dad is goanna show up." Aladdin nodded and walked out of the room.

I couldn't believe it. Aladdin still cared for his father who he barely even saw. What am I chopped liver? I guess there are worse things to be to someone. In his defense, he never really cared for me anyway and he saw me die, so I guess I can catch the rope falling off the cliff one more time.

It was then that I saw Jasmine in her wedding dress. I was glad Aladdin was out of the room, because not only would it be breaking tradition, but he probably would've heard my heart exploding. I give props to whoever Disney's wedding designer is, they get the job done every time and every time it's the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen. But Jasmine's easily trumped all the others in my opinion.

The Sultan was standing up at the gazebo, looking as proud as he always had been when it came to his daughter. "How I've been waiting for this day" he said as he grabbed Jasmine's hand lovingly, "If only your mother were here to see this. She would've been proud, more than proud" Jasmine smiled, "Thanks daddy"

But when there's a wedding to be had there are wedding crashers, and when there are wedding crashers something has to be broken. In this case, the wedding crashers were thieves, there were forty of them and not only did they break things, but they broke everything. Yeah, it's time for that. Introducing, The Forty Thieves.

They came dressed in full on ninja gear, robes, swords and all. Why a guy needed forty of them is beyond me, but it makes almost no sense. Trying to do the chivalrous thing and protect Jasmine, I flew around holding a sword that hung on the wall. I wasn't very good at fighting with it, but it made me feel better knowing that I had it.

Aladdin then came bursting in the room with a full squadron of guards. Swords drawn, they looked ready to fight, but a war was the last thing that anyone needed, besides The Thieves weren't looking for a fight, they were looking for a small green scarab, said to house an Oracle.

The guards engaged in an inevitable standoff, with the obvious leader of the group escaping towards the treasure room and Aladdin following him. Staying behind to protect Jasmine, I dropped the sword and began searching for a shield, it worked once before as my battle strategy, although not wide ranged, was effective. So if it ain't broke, use it again and again and again until the guy's brains are splattered all over the room. Which is essentially what I had begun to do.

The details of the last part were greatly exaggerated, for amazing, no one died in the battle all they managed to get were a few bruises and I had a yet another broken wing, but I had become a master of one winged flying so it didn't bother me. Jasmine didn't a scratch on her, so you're welcome Aladdin. I'll be waiting for the thank you card that you'll never send me, because you're an asshole.

Once the guards surrendered, the thieves tied everyone up and led us into the treasure room. The King Of Thieves stood over Aladdin, who was tied up against a pole, holding the scarab in his right hand, he spoke, "Thank you your generous donation, Your Majesty" Aladdin looked towards Jasmine and the Sultan, once again I had gone unnoticed. Turning back to the King, Aladdin began to plead "Why do you have to drag them into this. Let them go!" The King only laughed, "I will" he answered "Once I have what I want." Standing Aladdin up, The King carried him to the balcony, I initially feared the worst. I looked around and noticed that one person was missing from our group, Genie. I felt the slight loosening of my bonds, I turned my head slightly around and saw a small bug, who winked at me and spoke, "Stop him" It could only be Genie.

The problem was, I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I was free, unfortunately Genie didn't give me enough to think anything through, because I was on the floor in pain seconds later. But the good thing about not being noticed, is that you're not noticed. I literally had the upper hand, now I had to save Aladdin again, hoping that this time would be the last.

Just as I was about to make my move, the Oracle came, "What do you seek?" The King started to speak, but Aladdin cut him off, "Where is my father?" The Oracle turned to the King and then back to Aladdin, "Your father is the King of Thieves" I stopped in my tracks. So this was his father. The King sighed and then removed his hood and I immediately saw the resemblance, it was like looking at a portal through time.

Then the Oracle, as soon as it appeared it disappeared. I took this as my chance. Flying in front of Aladdin, I turned towards the King, "Listen you cheap, low life. Take whatever you want, but leave them alone" Aladdin stared at me, "Iago? You're alive?" his voice was half shock and half sincere, but now was not the time, "Of course I am" I replied, "It's a long story. I'll tell it you later." The King smiled at me, "Who are you?" You've got to be kidding me. I got right in his face, "I'm the guy who swore to protect your son! The one you abandoned on the streets after you survived the so called assassination attempt in search of God knows what!" The King then laughed, "So you're the one I've heard so much about?"

The Forty Thieves then turned released Jasmine and the others, leaving me extremely confused. "What's going on?" I asked, to which the King answered, "Call me Cassim" I shrugged, "Alright, what's going on?" I repeated, more annoyed now than ever. Cassim placed his hand on my shoulder, "You should be commended for your service, bird." He pulled out a small amount of gold and handed it to me, "I may be a thief, but that doesn't mean that I don't have honor." Aladdin stared at his father in utter confusion, "What the hell is happening!" he pointed to me, "Are you telling me that he's getting recognized? He tried to kill me" Cassim laughed, causing the Thieves to laugh, "Kill you? Hardly. He's been with you since the beginning Aladdin" Aladdin was the one laughing now, "You're joking right?" he looked around, "please tell me this is a joke!"

Cassim's face got serious, he grabbed Aladdin firmly, "Listen Aladdin. I may not have always been there, not like how I would've liked." He then picked me up, "But this bird has, think about it! How many times as he been there, how many times have you noticed him always watching your back? Too many to count I'd wager" Aladdin sighed, "Actually, I never noticed it. I always thought it was me." Cassim then slapped his son dead in the face, "Then you as blind as your heart is cold"

I turned to Cassim, "I know that he's an ungrateful bastard and has issues. But that's not saying that he's completely heartless" I was now just spewing out bullshit to pass the time. Aladdin was an asshole through and through, but that doesn't mean that I don't love him any less.

Cassim then turned to Aladdin, "Come with me boy" he then led Aladdin out of the room to have a much needed heart to heart. Standing in the hallway, Cassim patted his son on the back and began to speak, "Look at you" Aladdin looked at himself, "You're a mess." Aladdin stared at his father, "You're one to talk. You were never there! You expect me to just up and forgive you like nothing ever happened?" Cassim shook his head, "No. But it's what he expects. Iago raised you better than that" Aladdin punched the nearest wall, hurting his hand, "Iago didn't raise me. I was on my own"

Genie appeared out of nowhere, and took Aladdin by the hand, "You were never alone" Aladdin turned to Genie, "Stay out of this! No one asked your opinion" Genie nodded but spoke again anyway, "If only you could listen to yourself right now. You might hear things that you never expected."

I was listening from behind the door. It seemed that Aladdin was dead set in his absolute denial and/or hatred for me. I knew that nothing I could say or do would get him to change his mind. So, I decided that it would be easier if I was out of his life completely, he was stressed enough as it is to have to deal with me. So I left and I was never coming back.


	24. Christmas Eve

Chapter Twenty Four

Christmas Eve

It was Christmas Eve at the House of Mouse. Anybody who was anybody was there, so that's pretty much everyone except The Outcasts, who were excluded and weren't considered people or individuals. It may have been the holidays but that doesn't mean that people's ideas changed because of it.

But we didn't mind, we didn't care if we were hated, so we threw our own party in the back lot. The wreathes and garland were hung with care, stockings made of old socks lined the fence line. We even had a Christmas tree, it was small, missing some pieces and smelled of alcohol, but when you have close to nothing, anything is an improvement.

But even with all of this, I felt that something was missing. There was merriment to be sure, but it was lively. No, this merriment was forced for the sake of the holiday. I could see it on their faces, I could feel it inside of me. Every move I made was forced for the sake of everyone else.

"This is perhaps the worst Christmas ever" Oliver sighed as he put on a small scarf on his neck, Dodger ruffled the cat's fur on his head, "Hey, cheer up" he said, "It could be worse. We have food, shelter and friends. What else could we need?" Oliver stared out in space, "I miss her Dodger" he was crying now, "I miss Jenny" Oliver then began crying in full swing. All Dodger could do was embrace him and let the bitter tears flow down in the snow. "I know" Dodger answered, "I miss her too" Now he was close to crying, and Dodger never cried about anything.

I was sitting next to Quasi when I saw them both crying their eyes out, "What's up?" I asked, trying to get a better idea of the situation. Quasi then leaned in and began whispering, "I don't know all the details" he said, "but apparently, Jenny was Oliver's owner." I looked towards Oliver and Dodger, they never looked more broken. Esmeralda chimed in, "The poor girl. She was hit by an oncoming car, didn't even make it to the hospital."

Walking over, I tried to consolidate them, but before I could do anything, Dodger turned my way, "It's best if you leave us alone" I nodded in understanding, but still found myself talking, "Was she good to you?" Dodger was laughing, the laugh that people would give when remembering the best qualities about a person who was dead, "Was she good to me?" he answered, "She was the only human who even came close to caring about me." he then got right in my face, "I was this close to living with her full time" Dodger paced up and down the lot, "But when the car hit..." he trailed off, never finishing his sentence, ending the conversation with a barrage of tears that seemed endless and void of all feeling. The tears you cry when you're still grieving over something that has long passed, the thing that you wished you could change. The empty feeling of guilt that comes along with it only making the pain worse, until ultimately you break down completely, all of your walls are knocked down and the world sees what you've been hiding either loving you or hating you for it.

Lefou motioned over for me to come over, "It's best if you don't talk about it" he said, "They were close. Very close" I nodded in agreement, "So he told me. But what about the kid?" I pointed Oliver's way, Lefou only shook his head. "There's a reason why Dodger takes it harder than Oliver. He caused it"

Oliver walked over, having heard our conversation, "It was an accident..."

Jenny was walking down the street with Oliver and Georgette coming back from the library. She was considering going to high school a year early, that way she could go to college to study animal sciences. Just as she was crossing the street, Dodger accidently came up from behind, knocking Jenny straight into the path of an oncoming car. All three of the animals tried to move to save her, but before they could react, Jenny was already dead.

Dodger wasn't seen in town for three months. No one was sure where he had gone or even if he was alive. When he did come back, something was different. His whole outlook changed, he started a fund in Jenny's name, and even spent some time at the library, something that he swore he would never do.

When the gang confronted him about his behavior, the only answer he would give was, "I'm washing my hands" they didn't realize that he was talking about blood, and so left even more confused than when they came.

Dodger stared up at the moon, he was tired of having the guilt hang over him this way. He wanted to let go with all his heart, but just seeing Oliver made him remember what he had done. Dodger knew that he couldn't leave, for Oliver would be all alone, but then it wouldn't be considered a family if he was alone. That's what The Outcasts were-family.

"Alright" he said, turning towards the group, "I'm sick and tired of us having to sit here while everyone else is having the time of their lives." Beast and Lefou cheered, Esmeralda and Oswald nodded in agreement. It was time to take action. Dodger took command of the situation "I say we go over there and show them who we are!"

Everyone was in agreement, so we headed over to the House of Mouse. It was Christmas after all, so maybe they would show a little compassion. To be fair, we all looked like we rolled around in shit, the only person who was decent in the slightest sense was Lefou, so it's saying a lot. With snow and dirt in my feathers and bags underneath my eyes, I flew over to the front of the building.

The red carpet was rolled out. I saw the last of the Royals enter the building, then I saw the Sidekicks. Gurgi, along with some other lesser known characters exited a limo. Gurgi was wearing a small black bowtie and had the fur on his head combed back. I don't exactly what Gurgi is to be honest, I think he's supposed to be a small bear, I don't think he even knows what he is. I guess it doesn't matter.

Gurgi was a friend to everyone, Heroes and Villains alike. I don't like he considered himself an Outcast, but he did show support, which was enough to get me to talk with him. "Hey Gurgi" I said, causing him to turn my way, "Hey Iago" he answered in his high pitched and somewhat scratchy voice, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be dead?" I laughed, I hadn't made my public appearance since I returned to Agrabah, so I was still considered dead by most. "Not quite" I replied, "You can thank Yen Sid for that" Gurgi nodded, having had personal experience with Disney Deaths and the absurdity that it happens because of the willpower of the hero. It's Yen Sid, it's always been Yen Sid and it will always be Yen Sid. There's no Disney magic there, in fact, Disney magic in general is mostly because of Yen Sid. So the only magical thing about Disney is Yen Sid, everything else is just parlor tricks compared to controlling life and death forces of everything. Yen Sid, people, it's not that hard to accept. If I just killed your childhood fantasies, I'm telling you now that Iago the parrot, me, doesn't give a shit about your childhood or your fantasy. Disney isn't as magical as you think, although we all go along with it anyway under penalty of death by, you guessed it, Yen Sid.

Gurgi pulled out a flower and handed it to me, "For luck" he said, "Give the others my best" I nodded and tried to slip out as soon as possible, but before I could escape, Pinocchio, who was accompanied by Jiminy recognized me, "Hey Jiminy isn't that-?" Jiminy shook his head, "Can't be. His kind don't get resurrected" I turned around, "Excuse me?" I flew over, "What do you mean my kind?" Jiminy, Pinocchio and everyone else around them did a double take. "Y-y-you're alive?" Jiminy stuttered, I picked up the cricket and got right in his face, "Yeah, I'm alive. You surprised?"

Dodger and the others appeared from the corner of the building and came next to me, "What are _they_ doing here?" The Blue Fairy answered, pointing towards us with her wand, "They should be in chains. Locked up like the animals they are!" Dodger, Oliver, Beast and I each took offense to this, for we actually were animals, and since Quasimodo considered himself half human at times, he also fell into this category. "Stay strong guys" Lefou whispered in all of our ears, "They can't hurt us if we stick together" We all nodded our heads simultaneously and began to take out stand.

After sitting Jiminy down, I was selected to be the spokesperson, so I commanded the attention of those that were gathered, "Listen up" everyone turned towards me, "We are the Outcasts" A stray bottle hit the awning about us, I ignored it and continued, "Can you find it in your hearts to show a little charity?" Silence. "Please" I flew above the heads of some of the taller people in the crowd so that everyone could see me, "we're not asking for money. All we want to have a little bit of food, drink and have a good time just like the rest of you."

I could tell that no one was going to budge. Gurgi stared at me and tore up his ticket into the House of Mouse, "Gurgi won't go in" he said speaking in third person like he sometimes did, "Gurgi won't go in until Outcasts go in"

At that moment, Mickey came out and hurried everyone inside, the crowd forcing Gurgi in with them. Mickey then turned in my direction, "Merry Christmas" he pulled out a wreath, threw it and closed the door. Standing up, I flew up to the front door and banged on it, demanding entry. When the door opened, I was relieved to find that Daisy was at the door and not Mickey, "Can I help you?" she asked, "Yeah" I answered, "let us in" She looked at the others and then back at me, "Okay. But I'm doing this for you not them" I smiled, "Sure you are Daisy" I winked, I knew that she supported us from the beginning, she just didn't show it.


	25. My Death Was Greatly Exaggerated

Chapter Twenty Five

My Death Was Greatly Exaggerated

Shaking off my feathers, I welcomed the warm air of the nightclub. Looking at the others I could tell that already they were feeling better by the way they were smiling. I assumed it was because of the warmth of the building, it was only later that I realized that they were happy to be there, to be considered a member of society.

When our tables were assigned to us, Dodger, Oliver, Beast, Esmeralda, Quasimodo, and Oswald headed to the right, while Lefou and I headed to the left. No one even noticed that we entered the room.

I saw Aladdin sitting across from me, accompanied by his father. I wasn't comfortable to say the least. Cassim may have convinced Aladdin and everyone else that he turned over a new leaf, but I wasn't even close to that point. Ironic right? Put yourself in my situation and you'd feel the same way, angry as hell. Why was Aladdin being so accepting of this guy? He hadn't seen him in- never, he never saw him and yet he has the nerve to deny me even the slightest bit of respect or affection that I have clearly deserved. Mad? I was past that, I was livid.

I flew over as fast as I could, completely ignoring the fact that Quasimodo and the other Outcasts were watching me, I didn't care-in fact, I wanted them to look, to see what I was going through. "Ah" Cassim said as I approached, "we were just talking about you" I huffed, "I bet you were you lying, deadbeat, poor excuse for a father piece of shit" I turned towards Aladdin and motioned for him to continue, so he did. "I was telling Dad how you almost killed me-twice. No hard feelings, okay?" Aladdin extended his hand, but instead of taking it I bit it, "You honestly expect me to just up and apologize?" I exclaimed, "For something I didn't do!" I got right in his face, this time making sure that the message would stay in his head, "I. SAVED. YOUR. ASS!" I yelled, "multiple times. I didn't come back from the dead just to get insulted. What do I have to do to get you to see that I actually care for you?"

Aladdin laughed, "You're serious? You care for me...I'm touched" He was mocking me, I could tell by the way his voice rose and then fell as he said the last part, "Listen Iago. I hate you, it's plain and simple. You didn't do anything to stop Jafar in the throne room, you did nothing to stop him when he came back-" I cut him off, "I fucking died you inconsiderate asshole!" Aladdin blew that off, "It was all part of my plan" He was talking out of his ass and he knew it, but worst of all, he knew that I knew that he knew. "So you're confessing to murder?" I asked, "Because I'm pretty sure that I died" Aladdin laughed again, "No you didn't" I got even more in his face, "Yeah I did. I saw the pearly gates. They were amazing. Not like you would see them or anything" Silence. "Isn't saying that hurting your chances?" Aladdin asked, "you know, be God like and everything?" I huffed, "I think He can overlook this one. Trust me, I told him about you, we're good on that account." Aladdin shrugged, "Right"

Dodger came over and stared at Aladdin, "Is this guy you told me about?" I nodded, and he continued, "What the hell is wrong with you man?" he was laughing now, "You are the stupidest guy that I've ever seen if that's how you treat people who gave you the skin off their back." Aladdin huffed, "I'm sorry, who are you?" Dodger got in his face, "I'm Dodger, Brooklyn New York. Remember me, cause one day, me, Iago and the rest of the Outcasts are goanna kick your sorry ass back to where it was that you came from." Aladdin laughed and turned towards Cassim, "Can you believe this guy?" Cassim huffed, "I'll believe anything once. But this is farfetched even for me" Cassim pulled out a knife, "But no one threatens my son and gets away with it" Dodger backed up, "You sure you want to get into this?" he asked, "Cause it's not going to end well for you" Cassim raised his hand, and in an instant all Forty Thieves appeared out of nowhere, stopping Dodger and everyone else in their tracks. "You were saying something?" Cassim replied, taking Aladdin by the hand, "Come on. We've got a treasure to find!"

The room was suddenly filled with smoke and when it cleared Aladdin, Cassim and the Forty Thieves had disappeared. Great. Just great.

Looking over at where they had been sitting, I saw that Cassim dropped a small piece of paper. The writing on it was almost illegible, but three words clearly stood out, _The Hand of Midas_...

Mickey came on stage after that to start the show. I knew that Aladdin was to be my foremost responsibility, but it wouldn't feel right if I just left on the spot. On top of that, the others had never been here before, and it would only make the situation even more awkward than it already was if I just left. So I decided to stay, it was the worst decision that I made in my entire life.

The cartoons were all Christmas themed, no surprise there, but even as I kept thinking about Aladdin and the possible danger he was in, I found myself unable to look away from the screen. The cartoon was one that I've never even seen before, in fact I don't think anyone has, mostly because I was apparently the star of the whole thing.

It was then that I realized that the cartoon was a parody on my life. I had no doubt in my mind that Mickey or Aladdin had made it happen, because it was the most offensive thing that I have ever seen.

Everyone was laughing at me, at my life. It was accurate, every detail was there- it was twisted and slightly negative, but it was there. When it came to the part about my getting sucked into the Lamp, I just about lost it.

When the cartoon was over, my nostrils were fuming. Never before had I experienced feelings of pain, anger and shame at the same time, but now I can say that I have. I began knocking things over, smashing tables, destroying studio lights, the projector and finally I began beating the hell out of Mickey.

The lawsuit came quickly. I was fined ten thousand dollars for damages on the studio lights alone. I was also banished from Toon Town, not a huge loss, but it also meant that I had nowhere to go, since Agrabah was out of the question.

Outside the city walls, I headed for the coast. I was hoping that the air would do me some good. But once again, I was wrong and once again, I found myself fighting for my life, as if it couldn't get any worse than it already was.


	26. Reunion

Chapter Twenty Six

Reunion

One Year Later...

I had found a small apartment in southern Florida and was currently working as a tour guide for a small time nature reserve. From the time I left Toon Town up to now, life was good. I played the piano more than ever, kept in touch with Dodger and the others and even tried the dating scene, I might have tried a little too hard or may have said too much, but you can't blame a guy for trying, right?

Just when I thought that I was free to live again, I got a phone call from Cassim. Picking it up, my breathing immediately slowed and my first thought came to Aladdin. "Listen bird" Cassim said slowly, "I know that you still care for him." I had been trying to find Cassim and the Forty Thieves for the past year, having come up empty and searching most of the globe, "You might be pleased to know" he continued, "that we now have Jasmine and your Outcast friends."

Standing up, I flew towards the balcony outside a small slide in door, "What do you want from me?" I asked, knowing that whatever it was would be impossible for me to do, "Simple" Cassim sneered, "Find the Hand of Midas. You have twelve days." I was sweating, "How do I know that you won't kill them right now?" Cassim laughed, "You're smart. I like that. How about this? I'll send one of my men to assist you, keep you out of trouble. Listen to him and your friends will live, when all of this is over, you will all be set free." I nodded, "Alright" I replied, "Where?" Silence, I repeated myself, still nothing.

Hanging up the phone I tried to remain as clam as I possibly could. My friends, Jasmine and Aladdin were all being held against their will by a crazy lunatic and a ragtag group of even crazier lunatics. To make matters worse, I was supposed to find the Hand of Midas that most likely didn't exist or was in an impossible place that would take more than twelve days to get to. Nothing to worry about.

Once I calmed down a bit, I heard a knock at the front door, walking over nervously to answer it, I opened the door. I was greeted by a strange, extremely short, hooded figure. "Are you the-?" I was cut off before I could finish, "Yes I am" he answered, "I'm here to make sure that you stay alive, I get paid and we both walk away from this ordeal getting exactly what we want." Looking at the figure's hands I noticed that they weren't exactly hands, more like feathers. I shook it off as mere shock and allowed the hooded figure to enter.

Sitting on the couch once again, I stared at him, "Who are you?" I asked, the figure was hesitant to reply, but he answered anyway, "I'm not surprised that you don't remember. It's been a long time Iago" I stopped, "How do you know my name?" the figure laughed, "How could I forget the bird who saved his brother from his homicidally insane parents!" I recognized the voice, but I didn't want to believe who it was, "Is this some kind of joke?" I replied, "cause I'm not laughing" he smiled and then removed his hood. It was Othello.

Othello was the splitting image of me, his feathers were mostly gone off the top of his head and he looked as if he had gone through more hell than I would care to, but the resemblance was unmistakably there. "You're alive?" I asked, "I should ask the same of you Iago" Othello replied, "Saving your friends like that. If I had a hat on-" I stopped him, "We don't need that here" I said, Othello only laughed and nodded in agreement, "Now, let's get down to business"

Othello pulled out a small map and laid it on the kitchen table. "This map" he said, "Will lead you to the Hand" I looked it over, and of course the Hand would be located on a moving island, "How am I supposed to find something if I don't know where it is?" I answered, "This map could be ancient. We don't even know if the Floating Island is still there!" Othello laughed, "The map is ancient. But it's also extremely powerful. It knows where the Island is." I have heard about such maps before, Jafar would talk about them constantly, which is how he began his obsession with the Cave of Wonders. "So the map is magical?" I asked again for clarification but Othello only glared at me, which told me that I had said the wrong thing. "Let me make something perfectly clear" Othello began, "I didn't come here because I wanted to. Cassim personally asked for me. I don't care about you, I don't care about your friends, I only care about one thing- getting what is mine. Are we clear?" I nodded in understanding and we continued to make the plans.

I realized two thing about my brother very quickly. One, he was now void of all compassion for me, and two, he was even crazier than I thought. Not only did he have to keep me alive, which is easier said than done, but he also had to resist his natural urge to jab a knife in my throat the entire time. I could actually sit and watch as he constantly pulled out the knife he had hidden on his person, only to put it right back where it had come from and grumble to himself. I could tell already that tomorrow was not going to be an easy day.

We headed out at the first sign of daylight. The plan was very simple, we would head for the Bermuda Triangle, the last known location of the Floating Island, if it wasn't there and chances were high that was the case, we would search near the wreckage of the Titanic, another known location of the Island.

Othello would not stop glaring at me, as if he was just waiting for me to screw up, which would be a bad thing for him because he wouldn't get paid, but I had a feeling that he stopped caring about the money after the first forty five minutes of being with me. Now he just wanted me dead, and I guess the only reason that he hasn't killed me now, is to appease Cassim.

"Listen Iago" Othello said to me after we passed Cuba, "Our organization, The Forty Thieves, doesn't take prisoners" I was confused, why was he telling me this? I had gotten the call from Cassim himself, he said that he had Aladdin, Jasmine and the others. But I had a feeling that he wasn't talking about that, "What do you mean?" I asked, "I got a call-" Othello cut me off, "Cassim will kill them before the twelve days are up. It's a trick, Iago." I stopped mid flight, I wasn't going anywhere until he started making sense, "Why are you telling me this?"

Othello stopped as well, he turned towards me and spoke, "Because you're my brother Iago. I could care less about your friends, really I could. But I was lying when I said I didn't care about you." I couldn't tell if he was being sincere or if he was lying when he said he lied about not caring about me, so I took a chance, "So does that mean that you're not going to kill me?" Othello laughed, "I repressed that a long time ago! I'm after Father now. Is he still insane?" I returned his laugh, one of the many similarities that we had, "Insane would be putting it lightly. Dad's a homicidal lunatic" At this we both started laughing, almost causing ourselves to suffer the effects of down draft, which would've sent us plunging to our deaths in a watery grave.

We stopped to rest on a small island just outside the Bermuda Triangle. It was then that Othello told me how he got in with the Forty Thieves. In order to get into the organization, he faked his death by allowing himself to be buried in a coffin. When the coast was clear, he broke out using a crowbar he had hidden inside. After that he roamed the desert for years, searching for his purpose and he found it after witnessing a robbery that turned into murder, to destroy the Forty Thieves. To accomplish his goal, Othello joined the organization, learning everything that there was to know about stealing, stealth, and perhaps the most important thing-how to fight them.

I had a hard time believing that Othello was who he said though. For one thing, if he was alive why didn't he try to contact me? Another thing was that he had an obvious loyalty to Cassim and a deep love for money, if that isn't enough to raise my suspicions then nothing would've worked.

After a short break, we headed off again, this time to the North Atlantic. It was going to be a long twelve days indeed.


	27. Welcome To The Forty Thieves

Chapter Twenty Seven

Welcome To The Forty Thieves

Cassim laughed as he turned towards Aladdin, who was perfectly fine and in no real danger and spoke "I guess you were right Aladdin. The bird will believe anything" Aladdin nodded in agreement, "What'd I tell you Dad, Iago's an idiot"

A small growl came from the back of the room, Aladdin turned around and met the source of the sound, Dodger, who was tied to the wall. "Shut up dog" he yelled as he picked up a knife. As soon as Aladdin reached for the knife, Dodger immediately stopped, but he didn't flinch, "What are you going to do that hasn't already been done to me?" Dodger asked, Aladdin only laughed and walked forward, "I'm going to kill you" he answered.

Dodger looked to his left, Oliver and Esmeralda were tied up, next to them were Lefou and Beast, the latter was chained to the wall. He could see the fear in their eyes as they watched Aladdin raise the knife. Dodger could feel the pain as the knife entered his body, for a moment he thought he was dead. Aladdin, though was terrible at aiming, and only managed to wound Dodger's shoulder, but it still had enough of a shock effect to cause the dog to be motionless and unresponsive on the ground.

Cassim began clapping as he witnessed Aladdin seemingly commit his first murder, "Welcome to the Forty Thieves" he exclaimed happily, "Oh, just think of it! We can take the Hand of Midas together, and then nothing can stop us!" Aladdin immediately thought about Jasmine, for she was trapped here. Well, trapped is an understatement, saying that Jasmine was a sexual slave being passed around by the Forty Thieves is an extreme accurate statement. To make matters worse, Aladdin made it happen, he no longer cared about Jasmine romantically or otherwise, so he considered this his divorce, then he remembered that he was never married in the first place.

Jasmine got off the small mat and picked up the money she received. Cassim told her that if she complied with the wishes of his men, that she would be set free in three months. It had been six months since they had been captured.

Jasmine knew that she was already dead, she knew the minute that she came to the den that she wouldn't make it out alive. But she made an obligation to herself to see that the others got out. She can still remember their faces the first time they came here, not broken and defeated, but strong and resilient. She wondered where such strength came from and if she could muster some of her own.

Jasmine had free reign of the den. It would've been easy for her to sneak out of the place unnoticed, but she didn't. She couldn't, not knowing that there were still people inside that she could possibly save. Even if one of those persons is Aladdin, Jasmine knew that she had to be the one to make things right.

I don't know exactly how she did it, but somehow she got Genie involved in this. In an instant, Genie appeared. Looking around, he was extremely confused, upon finding a familiar face, Genie sighed a sigh of relief and spoke, "Uh Jasmine...what's going on?" Jasmine gave Genie one of stares that means _"You should've been here sooner. Where the hell where you?"_ kind of stares, "Really Genie? We've been prisoners here for six months and you've only noticed until now!"

Genie was surprised, in truth, like me, he had been searching for The Forty Thieves and came up with nothing. So it's not that he didn't notice, it's that he couldn't find them. "Where's Al?" he asked, his face showing concern, Jasmine's face immediately turned to stone at Aladdin's name, "He's one of them now" she answered, "but it doesn't matter. We're going to free everyone"

Jasmine then disappeared into a hallway, leaving Genie standing in the brothel, witnessing the horrors that Jasmine had to go through. Genie stared at the wall, and using his magic he could see the interrogation room. He could see The Outcasts tied and chained to posts, the floor, anything that you could tie a person to really. They all looked thin, for they hadn't eaten in close to what would've been two weeks and all of them were knocking on death's door. But it wasn't their bodies that Genie kept staring at, it was their faces. Despite the pain, the torture, all of them had the face of strength. Of those that were standing, Dodger, Oliver and Lefou, Genie could see it in their stances, they weren't going down without a fight.

Cassim left the room, leaving Aladdin alone with the captives. Oliver couldn't find enough words to describe Aladdin right now, so he just started ranting, "You're a no good Street Rat...you dirty, backstabbing motherfucker! I hope Iago kills you quickly" Aladdin laughed at the last part, "As if that bird could do anything to me!" Aladdin walked over to Lefou, who hadn't said a word in his captivity, just giving subtle responses as communication. "What's the matter, Lefou?" Aladdin sneered, "Cat got your tongue?" Aladdin laughed as he pulled out a large, bloody, pink piece of distorted muscle tissue, Lefou's tongue, "Is this it?" Aladdin asked sarcastically as he waved it in front of Lefou, who continued his gaze and filled it with hate, anger and the desire, as all of them had at this point, to bash Aladdin's head in with the nearest weapon possible.

Aladdin turned towards Esmeralda, "I never did thank you for last night" he whispered in her ear, "very exotic, very sensual..." Aladdin was cut off by Quasimodo, "Leave her alone you sick bastard!" Aladdin laughed as he pulled out his knife, edging it ever so closely to Esmeralda's neck. This caused Quasimodo to go in a fit of rage, he wanted to break his chains, but Aladdin and Cassim had made sure that such a thing was not possible with any of them.

Oswald was suspended in a cage above a large pit of alligators in the corner of the interrogation room. He was treated significantly better than the others, fed regularly, slept as well as anyone could when they're trapped in a cage. But Oswald, like Lefou, was manipulated, his ears were cut off.

But being suspended over a pit of alligators meant that Oswald wasn't watched by any of the guards, so instead of sitting there and awaiting his certain death, Oswald took action. Taking a small piece of wire from the cage, Oswald worked on the lock, having picked up lock picking from a conversation between two of the thieves, before they found out about it and cut off his ears that is.

Fortunately, the Thieves took no effort after that to ensure that Oswald wouldn't escape, which is exactly what happened. Jumping down into the alligator pit, quiet as a mouse, Oswald climbed out, grabbed a whip and made his way towards the exit.

Jasmine started running as soon as she was clear of the brothel. She had to get the master keys, and that meant getting to Cassim. As soon as she got to Cassim's room, she saw that everything was neat, carefully organized in a precise manner. Having no idea where the key could be, she began rifling through everything.

Cassim was at the door in seconds, having followed Jasmine for the better part of the past twenty minutes of her running around the den. "What are you doing?" he asked, his eyebrows rose to a very suspicious level. Jasmine turned around slowly, fearing that Cassim would be holding a sword and kill her on the spot, luckily this was not the case, "Nothing my King" she said, addressing him by his title, "Just-" Cassim stepped forward, cutting her off, "You were doing something" he drew a small knife, "tell me what it was, or I cut off your ear!"

Jasmine looked around nervously, she instinctively picked up a small cannonball on the desk and placed it behind her back, "I was lost, my King. I thought I might find a map, to help with future incidents" Cassim smiled, seeing through Jasmine's lie, "I'm not as dumb as you think I am" he laughed moving ever so slowly towards her. Jasmine braced herself, she thought about all the times that she had ever been in danger, she thought about the time she was in the hourglass and the time that the Thieves first came to the palace, swords flashing and teeth baring.

It confused Jasmine as to why she was thinking this, for she certainly didn't want to think about any of those things as her last thoughts. She thought about it harder, it was then that she saw something that she never saw before. She saw me. The flash of red, yellow and hints of blue in my feathers flooded her mind. She remembered that every time she was ever in danger, I had come to save her. I was like a guardian angel, sending a message that only she could see.

But Jasmine knew that I wouldn't be there to save her this time, but I'd like to think that I told her what to do inside her head, because she was thinking of me as she threw the cannonball at Cassim and ran out of the room, heading towards the interrogation room.

Aladdin watched as Esmeralda's body hit the floor, he reveled as Quasimodo screamed in anguish and despair, pleading to take his life next if only to end the pain that the world brought him. Aladdin complied.

Dodger woke up in extreme pain and tried to the best of his ability to shake off the effects of shock. He saw Esmeralda, limp and lifeless, and began to cry silently. Aladdin was now working on The Beast, the screams that pierced Dodger's ears almost made him permanently deaf. But Dodger could only watch as Aladdin began skinning Beast, suddenly the screams stopped...Aladdin left the Beast half skinned and began making his way around the room.

Aladdin cleaned his knife, and turned towards Oliver, Dodger was not about to let that happen. "You're a sick motherfucker you know that?" Dodger screamed, causing Aladdin to turn his direction. Aladdin laughed at Dodger's remark, not caring that he was still alive "I'm only following orders. You guys have to die" Dodger only growled and began barking repeatedly, anything to get Aladdin to stop terrorizing Oliver, who so far had remained relatively healthy in comparison to the others.

If it wasn't for Jasmine coming in the room, Oliver and the remaining Outcasts, would be dead, no question. Jasmine was holding a scimitar, "Aladdin" she said, "I'm giving you three seconds to drop the knife and stop this" Aladdin ignored her, but Jasmine continued, "Fine" she ran towards him, "consider this my divorce!" she swung the weapon, but Aladdin countered her in mid swing, laughing as he did so, "Big mistake" he said as he pulled the weapons out of her hand, picked her up by the neck and slammed her hard down on the ground.

Genie appeared next to Dodger, Oliver and Lefou and began undoing the chains. As soon as they were free, they all had the same idea, kill Aladdin. Dodger and Oliver tackled him to the ground, while Lefou grabbed a knife and pointed it at Aladdin's neck. "Go ahead" Aladdin sneered, "do it. You'd be doing me a favor" Lefou sighed, tossing the weapon across the room, and began signing to Oliver and Dodger to chain Aladdin to the wheel.

While Dodger and Oliver removed Beast's body from the wheel, replacing it with Aladdin's, Lefou walked over to Jasmine. Lefou grabbed Jasmine's hand and pulled her to her feet, "Thank you" she said, Lefou smiled and motioned towards the exit, "What about the others?" she continued, but Lefou only pointed towards the exit once more.

Dodger and Oliver walked over, "Oswald's gone" Oliver stated, "we have to find him" Dodger shook his head in agreement, "No. we can't take that chance" he said, "we have to find Iago." Lefou nodded in agreement, Dodger continued, "Oswald's on his own". Oliver looked at Dodger in disbelief, "What about Outcasts stick together to the end?" Dodger laughed, "Kid, The Outcasts are dead. It's just us...we're all that's left" With that there was nothing left to say, and they headed towards the exit completely silent and like they were in society, invisible to the world.


	28. Being There

Chapter Twenty Eight

Being There

We couldn't go much further, we exhausted every lead. Othello lost the map when a large wave from nowhere blindsided him, so we were flying blind. But even so, we knew that the Island couldn't be anywhere in the North Atlantic, if it was, it was invisible. Nothing could be seen but open ocean for miles on end.

This was getting dangerous, I tried looking for any sign of land, a sign, a miracle, anything. But nothing came. We were both dead beat tried, and we couldn't go back, the distance was too great. We could only keep pushing forward and hope that land would be seen soon.

It was nightfall by the time we spotted a small island, I don't which overtook me first, happiness or sleep, I guess both, because the second I touched solid ground I fell face first into a deep sleep.

I had a dream that night. I was standing a large chamber made of stone, there was a waterfall coming up from the top of it, making a small pool at the bottom. There was no real floor in the chamber, a small walkway was seen in the middle and the rest of an empty chasm. The Hand was displayed on a pedestal at the end of the walkway.

Walking over it, I tried not to touch it, for I knew that would be fatal. But this was a dream, wasn't it? Still, I decided to go with my better judgment for once and left The Hand alone.

It was then that the dream changed. I was outside on...a floating turtle? To my right I was a large ship, from the flag I could tell that it was The Forty Thieves. Then they all came on the island. It was Aladdin, followed by Cassim, then only twelve of the forty thieves. What happened to the others?

Then Dodger, Oliver and Lefou came out, flying over I saw Aladdin pull out a sword and begin the decapitations. I wanted to look away, but then I remembered that it was my dream, and so forced it in an entirely new direction. Soon, Aladdin, Cassim, myself, Dodger and Lefou were in the chamber. Oliver was nowhere to be found.

Cassim picked up The Hand, and nothing happened, then Othello appeared. For some reason he began pushing rocks down from a high balcony, causing the whole place to fall down. As the rocks fell on top of me, I woke up.

Othello was startled by my screaming, I tried to get up, to fly away really, but Othello had tied my leg to a stake in the ground. "What's going on?" I asked, Othello laughed, "You collapsed as soon as we got here. Unconscious...you almost died from choking on a stick, the very stick that you are tied to now" he said matter-of-factly, adding in the joke for my benefit, for I did not choke on a stick, it was instead a spider, which was now roasting on the small fire that Othello had made.

Was I was clam, I began to undo my bonds, when that was over, I grabbed one of the fish that we caught earlier in the week and began to eat it. It was raw and well past freshness, but I didn't care, I was hungry and decided that if I was going to die, I would die with a full stomach.

Othello turned to me, "Listen" he said, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, and to state the obvious, but we're never going to find it this way" I nodded in agreement, "True, but maybe if we had a _map,_ we wouldn't be in the mess to begin with!" Othello shrugged his shoulders, "I'm sorry I can't be perfect. I'm sorry that I lied to about me being alive, I'm sorry that I really don't care about your friends and I'm sorry that I'm getting paid. Anything else you want to me to apologize for?"

I wasn't even going to suggest anything, but since he mentioned it, "Yes" I replied, "why are you leading me in the wrong direction?" Othello tensed up a bit, "What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice cracked as he spoke, telling me that I said the right thing. I stood up, got in his face and spoke again, "I had a dream about the Island...I know where it is...off the coast of India!" It was so obvious that it would be near Agrabah, which is on the south end of Saudi Arabia.

Othello raised his wings in surrender, "Alright you got me...the Island is seven miles away from Agrabah off the coast of India" I wanted to punch him in the face, and perhaps do a little more, but before I could, he spoke again, "The map was a fake. Cassim's probably found The Hand by now, your friends are as good as dead"

I stopped, there was no point in continuing the argument. I sat down and began to think about my life. I felt a sudden emptiness inside, the words, _"Your friends are as good as dead"_ combined with the knowledge that the Island was in India, made this all the more real.

Soon enough we started talking again, this time it was a normal conversation. "So, you seeing anyone?" Othello asked, starting the conversation. I laughed in reply, "No" I answered, "why?" Othello shrugged, "Just thought you would have _someone_ at home, misses you maybe." I shook my head, "Can't say that I have. Came close though" Othello sat up, for he was lying on the ground, "Really? What happened? Underage, drunk as hell or got caught by the old man?" I laughed again, "None of the above" I replied, hesitating to finish my thoughts, "she just loved someone else"

Othello sighed, "I'm sorry...what's the other guy like?" I turned towards him, "Human for one thing" I answered, Othello cringed, "So she's human. That's explains a lot" I nodded in agreement, "It's complicated" I replied, "I know" Othello returned, "I was in love with a human too. Sweet girl, loved flowers and dancing." I was the one now sitting up, relived that I wasn't the only one, "What happened to you?" Othello sighed again, this time deeper, "She died". I couldn't imagine what it must be like, but then again I already knew, for I had experienced it. "In my case" I continued, "I raised the guy...he turned out to be a complete asshole" Othello then asked the million dollar question, "Who is he?" I didn't hesitate this time, "Aladdin"

"Tough break" Othello said, "have you ever considered prostitution? Good way to find someone that way" What Othello was saying made no sense, "What are you talking about?" I said, "Prostitution is not a good way to meet anyone. Besides it's illegal" Othello laughed and looked up at the sky, intimidating Indiana Jones, "Only if you get caught"

We both laughed after that. For a moment, Othello forgot that he was a thief, he forgot that he was being paid. All Othello knew, was that I was his brother and that he was there. In turn, I forgot that Othello wanted me dead, I forgot that he was a lair, a thief, worked for a crazy psychopath and lost the map that was wrong to begin with. I forgot all of those things, because Othello wasn't any of that then, he had become my brother. I never forgot that, and I don't he did either, because after that night, he was never the same.

We talked for hours. We talked about what we thought about life, death and what we would do when this all over. Othello promised that he would go straight, start a fishing business in Florida. I told myself that eventually I would return to Toon Town, get a new name and start a new life.

But there were times when we sat in silence, saying nothing and yet saying all that needed to be said. Just being there seemed to have an effect on both of us, because after several minutes, we looked at each other, with tears in our eyes and cried. We embraced exactly how you would when seeing the one person who can make anything right. Because at that moment, the world didn't matter. All that mattered was that someone was there.

Othello then began ranting, about the mistakes he had made, but I cut him off, "It's alright Othello" I said, "let's make this right" Othello nodded and spoke, "Alright...I'm with you"

In a split second Genie appeared, almost giving me a heart attack. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked, half joking and half serious. "What a way to ruin a moment" Othello whispered under his breath, Genie only rolled his eyes and turned towards me, "Listen buddy" he said, "The Outcasts are free, but Jasmine's be recaptured." I leaned in intently, "What can we do? The Island's in India!" I replied, forgetting that I was standing in front of Genie, "Hello?" Genie replied, "Magical Genie right here! I can take you anywhere you want"

The correct response should've been obvious, but I went a step further, "I want us and The Outcasts on the Floating Island before Cassim gets there" Genie smiled and nodded, "Ring-a-ding-ding, we have a winner!" He then ruffled my feathers, "I knew you were a smart one" Then we disappeared and headed towards India.


	29. The Hand of Midas

Chapter Twenty Nine

The Hand Of Midas

The first thing I saw was the ship. The flag was a blue banner with a yellow cross and the Hand on the upper right hand corner. The flag of the Forty Thieves.

Othello then saw them, Cassim and Aladdin who were leading the others, The Outcasts, to a small beach. We walked over and it was then that Genie realized his mistake, we had arrived on different parts of the island, but The Outcasts appeared on the ship itself and were recaptured.

Othello turned to me, "Let me go up there" he said, "he knows me" I nodded, not willing to argue with logic, just wanting this to be over with as possible.

Aladdin lined them up according to size, meaning that Oliver was first, followed by Oswald, Dodger, Lefou and then Jasmine. He pulled out a sword and spoke, "By the authority of The King of Thieves and I, Aladdin, Prince of Agrabah. I condemn you all to die by beheading." Oliver turned toward Dodger, "Dodger?" Dodger immediately looked his way, tears were rolling down his cheeks. he didn't want to speak, but he somehow he found a way. "Yeah, kid?" Oliver hesitated, knowing that by doing so, he only gave the signal for Aladdin to continue, "Outcasts stick together." Dodger nodded, "That's right. We do" Dodger laughed, remembering all the things that they had been through. Oliver continued, "I love y-" before he could finish Aladdin brought the sword down on Oliver's head.

Othello came up almost immediately after. He saw Oliver's body and turned towards Cassim, his face expressionless and void of all feeling. "I have him" he said, Cassim raised his hand, stopping Aladdin from moving on to Oswald. "Bring him to me" Cassim ordered, Othello bowed and quickly returned with me following close behind.

As soon as Cassim saw me, he pulled out a large bag of money and handed it to Othello. "Very good Othello" Cassim whispered, "You remember your end of the bargain?" Othello sighed, "Sir, things are different now. I can't just-" Cassim pulled out a knife and pointed it at Othello's throat, "Do as I say!" Cassim sneered, "or I'll have you join him" he pointed towards Oliver's body, his head was nowhere to be found. Othello nodded and took the knife from him and made his way towards me.

"What's going on?" I asked, Othello wrapped his wings around me and stabbed me in the back without a second thought. I immediately had the look of confusion and utter despair, for in my eyes, Othello had betrayed me. "I'm sorry" Othello whispered in my ear, "but you can't get in the way now" he then pulled the knife out of my back and let me fall to the ground.

Cassim then turned towards Aladdin, "Take them. Take them all" Aladdin nodded and had The Outcasts march along the beach, but Oswald and Lefou stayed behind, for they were not needed and only extra weight as far as Cassim was concerned. Othello stayed with them, making sure that they didn't try to escape.

As soon as Cassim, Aladdin and the prisoners disappeared behind the hillside, I stood up. I was in extreme pain, but I knew that I had to continue, I had to stop this. I had to, because no one else would, at least that's what I thought.

Cassim reached the chamber, followed by Aladdin and the others. I had discovered a small balcony that I managed to fly to and sit upon unnoticed, one of the advantages of being me. Cassim then began to laugh, "This is it!" he raised his fist in the air, "the moment I've been waiting for" Aladdin raised his eyebrows, "Whatever happened to father and son? Taking the Hand and using it to control the world?" Cassim turned around, "You're joking right?" Cassim said, "Like I would share the infinite treasure with a Street Rat? Think again boy!"

Aladdin clenched his fists in anger, but he would do the same thing in Cassim's place. In fact, why not? He was in the room after all, all he had to do was push Cassim over the small walkway and into the chasm. It was too easy.

Aladdin pulled out his knife and moved slowly towards Cassim, I wasn't about to let it end this way. Flying down, I got in between Cassim and Aladdin, the former turned around. Cassim stared at his son, "So you were trying to kill me?" he said threateningly, "Yes" Aladdin answered, "you're a backstabbing asshole. The treasure is mine" I couldn't listen to this anymore. "Enough" I butted in, "Don't you see? This thing, The Hand, it's controlling you."

Cassim made me turn towards him, "Bird" he said, his face showing signs of seriousness and warmth, "thank you. Thank you for giving me your son" I was confused, so I let him continue, "Aladdin is not my son, he is yours. He has always been yours." I sighed, "Then I am a failure at parenthood" I laughed also, but it wasn't sincere. Cassim stopped me, "It is not you who as failed. It is him" Aladdin stared at his father in utter confusion, "What are you talking about!" he yelled, "You're the one who said I should do this. You made the plans, you gave the order to kill Esmeralda, Beast and Quasimodo. It was all you!"

Cassim sighed, "I never gave you an order. I never said any of those things. All I suggested was that we find the Hand of Midas." Aladdin was even more confused, "What about The Outcasts? What did they serve?" Cassim answered his question, "To get him" he pointed at me, "involved. To share in this great adventure that is only really a journey. I want him to share in The Hand"

I was moved and afraid for my life at the same time. Cassim reached for The Hand, and I didn't stop him, for I can see that this is what he was meant to do. His hand immediately turned gold, it went up his arm and across his body, the last words he said was, "It is a horrible thing...this addiction to money. Thank God there are people like Iago. Thank God"

Othello released Lefou and Oswald, "Come on, we have to help the others" he said. Lefou communicated to Oswald what Othello was saying, they having worked out a system of signs and gestures. Oswald and Lefou nodded in agreement and headed towards the main chamber.

They got there as soon as Cassim was nothing more than a statue. Aladdin screamed in pain, Othello immediately led them down the pathway and on top of the small balcony overlooking the situation.

Aladdin turned towards me, all of his hate and anger now completely manifested in this single moment, "You killed my father!" he screamed as he thrust the knife towards me, which I avoided by flying upwards. Aladdin was close to falling into the chasm, but I grabbed his shirt and pulled him back up. Even still, Aladdin tried to kill me.

I made my way to the others, hoping that they would help me. The only one who moved was Jasmine, the one person I wanted to stay out of this. Jasmine began throwing rocks at Aladdin, several of them hit him square in the face, but did nothing else then cause small bruises. "That's the best you got?" Aladdin taunted, he turned towards me, "You're relying on a selfish bitch to fight your battles? How pathetic!"

I turned around and met his insult, "Two things...one, Jasmine is a saint. Two, if anyone is a bitch around here, it's you." Aladdin lunged forward, his target was nothing, and still he lunged, it was almost comic. But I was laughing, because once he found his target, I froze.

Aladdin removed the small knife from Jasmine's torso, he twisted the knife left and right. All the while, Jasmine made no sound, because she was already dead. The boy I had raised into a man was dead. What was left was a monster, an empty shell of nothing that could be defeated by nothing.

I looked up, Othello was on the ledge. He began pushing rocks down, for what reason I don't know. Then I remembered the dream. Othello was destroyed the structure, it would be down in minutes.

Aladdin laughed as he turned towards me once more, ignoring the fact that The Outcasts had slipped out the room, for there was little they could do in chains. "So this is the end?" Aladdin asked rhetorically, "I guess so" I replied. Then we both made our move.

I pushed Aladdin down on the ground, but he immediately threw me off. Othello pushed the final rock down and then he, along with Lefou and Oswald, who were also pushing rocks, left.

I was up against a wall, even if Aladdin did kill me, the chamber would kill indefinitely. But I wasn't going down that easy. If I was going to die, I wanted two things to happen, one Aladdin to go down with me and two, to be dead. If I was going to die, I didn't want to come back, I wanted to just be dead. I was tired of constantly reliving the same pain, opening the same wounds despite my best efforts to close them.

Aladdin tripped on a rock and fell on the ground, the knife impaled his body, he was dead. Standing up, I noticed that Jasmine's body was gone, then I saw a trail of blood leading towards the exit, she was alive. I knew it, she just had to be alive.

It brings me great pleasure to tell you that The Outcasts escaped with their lives. It gives me great pleasure also, to tell you that I am dead. I am happy and free. Do not let my passing bring you any sorrow, for I am surrounded by friends and family. Heaven can be a place of great happiness, but then you don't have to be in Heaven to be happy. As long as you are surrounded by people who care about you, it doesn't matter where you are. Friends can make even Hell worthwhile. I can say now that by guilt of association, I am in Hell. Jafar is to my left, Aladdin to my right. I am not surrounded by friends, that was a lie. But still I am happy. I am happy because people like Jafar and Aladdin are no longer troubles to the world...

Genie recovered my body from the ruins of chamber. He then did the worst thing that I have ever experienced. He brought me back to life.

Waking up, I was surrounded by friends. Dodger, Jasmine, Lefou, Oswald and Genie gathered around me as if at any moment I would stand. I stayed there, lying on the ground, and cried.

We returned to Agrabah's Palace. Jasmine picked me up and kissed my forehead, "Thank you Iago" she said as she pulled me in for an embrace. Even as this was happening to me, I felt empty. It wasn't real. She didn't care about me at all. Jasmine only did what she did out of thanks for the moment, not out of thanks for what I did for almost her entire life. It was empty and meaningless.


	30. Happy Endings

Chapter Thirty

Happy Endings

I realized a very important thing that has become a reoccurring theme that I've only know about until now. My life has only been a journey, you know how they say that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step? Will this is my final step. Because at some point the journey ends and becomes an adventure.

Othello did go on the straight path, he is now one of the most successful fisherman on the East Coast, to this day we have never been closer. Dodger went back to New York to start his life over, but I never saw or heard from him again, no one has. His body was found three weeks later in a ditch, murdered in cold blood while trying to protect a kid from drug dealers. Lefou became a concert pianist, able to stand with the greats like Mozart and Beethoven, he is now living with his wife in California where they have two kids, Iago and Junior. Oswald is now the owner of the House of Mouse, which is now open to all walks of life. Mickey lost the nightclub and decided that Disney World was a better investment. He is now living in Florida and taking rehabilitation classes.

Jasmine married Mike, the last person you would expect. I was invited to attend, which I did. I decided to give Jasmine away, for the Sultan had died in her captivity and thus she had no one to do it. It pained me to see Jasmine kiss him, but I knew that it was for the best. I had wanted so much, I had wanted to be up on that altar, but the best I could hope for, was to stand next to bride.

The adventure always end with the hero on the upside, the goals are complete and everyone gets a Happy Ending. I can tell you right now, that is a lie. Because I'm still searching for mine. But the thing about adventures is, that when one ends, another journey starts. My journey is never ending, it is the journey of life. Never really over until I draw my last breath on this Earth, then it will become an adventure. One that I hope will be worth remembering.

This is my story. My name is Iago the parrot, I have sacrificed more than just a simple reputation, more than a life. I have given everything I have-and the world still sees me as they want to see me. A Villain, a stain. But I know who I am. I am a musician, a father, a friend, and a brother. Those are my titles, but even so, that doesn't change the fact that I am Iago.

Right now, I am sitting alone at the House of Mouse, right back where I started this journey that is now an adventure. This story is over, because I've run out of room in this small journal. Is it a Happy Ending? I'll leave you to decide.

The End


End file.
